Lights Ahead: Morphology and Life Stages of the Spotted Tortoise Firefly, Aspisoma sticticum Gemminger, 1870 – Fireflies with a Unique Extra Pair of Lanterns on the Larval Pronotum (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)

Nunes, Viviane C. S.; Matos, Eduardo José Lemos de; Lima, William; Vaz, Stéphanie; Mermudes, José Ricardo M.; Silveira, Luiz Felipe Lima da

doi:10.3161/00034541anz2021.71.1.007

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…1A, 1B), while some others have paired spots on VII and VIII (Fig. 1D, e.g., Pterotus LeConte, 1859; Stenocladius Faimaire 1878), on the pronotum (Nunes et al, 2021), or feature polymorphic patterns of single or paired spots on segments II-VI (Fig. 1E, Lamprohiza Motschulsky 1853; Novák, 2018a).…”

Section: Discussion Morphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Firefly larvae mastered gastropod-eating through a menagérie of complex behaviors, including snail-riding (climbing the shell and biting from above, e.g., Lampyris noctiluca -Tyler, 2002), snail-lifting (lifting the snail and holding it in the air before biting, e.g., Micronaspis gabrielae- Vaz et al, 2021), and tracking of mucus trail (Pyrocoelia atripennis -Sato, 2019). At least under lab conditions, firefly larvae of many species would feature ''congregating feeding behavior'', upon which several larvae will eat the same prey (e.g., Fu & Meyer-Rochow, 2012;Nunes et al, 2021). This phenomenon was never documented in the field, and is still largely unstudied.…”

Section: Behavior and Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A comprehensive review and call for studies on firefly larvae

Riley

Rosa

Silveira

2021

PeerJ

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Background Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) are commonly recognized by adult traits, such as a soft exoskeleton, lanterns and associated glow and flash patterns, but their larval stage is far less appreciated. However, fireflies spend most of their lives as larvae, and adults of most species rely solely on resources previously obtained. Therefore, studying the immature stages is imperative towards a comprehensive understanding of fireflies. This paper reviews and indicates key gaps in the biology of firefly larvae based on available literature. Methodology We reviewed the literature on firefly larvae to identify key issues and important taxonomic, geographic, and subject biases and gaps. Results We found 376 papers that included information on firefly larvae. Only 139 species in 47 genera across eight of eleven lampyrid subfamilies have been studied during larval stages. These numbers reveal a staggering gap, since 94% of species and over half of the genera of fireflies were never studied in a crucial stage of their life cycle. Most studies on firefly larvae focus on two subfamilies (Luciolinae and Lampyrinae) in four zoogeographic regions (Sino-Japanese, Oriental, Nearctic, and Palearctic), whereas the other subfamilies and regions remain largely unstudied. These studies mainly dealt with morphology and behavior, other subjects remaining greatly understudied by comparison, including habitats, life cycle, physiology and interactions. Conclusions Together, these literature biases and gaps highlight how little is known about firefly larvae, and warmly invite basic and applied research, in the field and in the lab, to overcome these limitations and improve our understanding of firefly biology to better preserve them.

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Section: Discussion Morphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Behavior and Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comprehensive review and call for studies on firefly larvae

Riley

Rosa

Silveira

2021

PeerJ

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Taxonomical and bionomical studies with the description of immature stages were done mainly for Elateridae (Costa 1970, 1975, 1978, Casari-Chen and Costa 1986, Rosa 2004, Rosa et al 2010) and for Lampyridae (e.g., Viviani 2001, Silveira and Mermudes 2014, Silveira et al 2019, Vaz et al 2021a), including species of Aspisoma Laporte (Costa et al 1988, Viviani 1989a, 1989b, Viviani et al 2012, Nunes et al 2021), Photuris femoralis Curtis (Rosa 2007), and more recently for Cratomorphus cossyphinus (Perty) (Campos et al 2018), which was previously catalogued as Cratomorphus sp2 ( Cratomorphus Motschulsky) (Viviani 2002), Aspisoma sticticum Gemminger (Nunes et al 2021), and Psilocladus costae Vaz, Silveira and Rosa (Vaz et al 2020). The family Phengodidae, on the other hand, remains much less studied (Viviani and Bechara 1997, Costa et al 1999), with few Brazilian genera and species having been described (Wittmer 1992, 1996, Roza and Mermudes 2019, 2020, Roza et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inventory and ecological aspects of bioluminescent beetles in the Cerrado ecosystem and its decline around Emas National Park (Brazil)

Viviani,

Rosa,

Prado

et al. 2023

Annals of the Entomological Society of America

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Among the richest ecosystems in bioluminescent Coleoptera in Brazil, the Cerrado (savannas) is the most threatened one by agricultural expansion. The Emas (PNE) and Chapada dos Guimarães (PNCG) National parks are 2 of the last main remnants of the original Cerrado ecosystems in Central-west Brazil. During the past 3 decades, we have conducted several expeditions to collect, observe and study bioluminescent beetles occurring in the PNE and surrounding farms. More recently we also started to investigate the PNCG. We recorded a total of 51 bioluminescent species, including fireflies (n = 29), click beetles (n = 11), phengodids (n = 10), and staphylinids (n = 1). The PNE region was the richest one, especially for phengodids (n = 9). Among the habitats that compose the Cerrado physiognomy, the Cerrado and cerradão hosted most of the bioluminescent species, followed by forest, open fields and marshes. Most fireflies inhabiting the Cerrado ecosystem emit yellow-green light, whereas most click beetles emit predominantly green light, and among phengodid species, orange and red-light emission was found in 3 species. The spectacular click beetle Pyrearinus termitilluminans Costa-lodging luminous termite mounds were found in PNE and also reported for the first time at PNCG. In the farms around the PNE, however, a declining number of bioluminescent species was recorded in cerradão areas after the replacement of the surrounding cattle pastures by sugarcane plantations, especially adult phengodid males that were no longer attracted to light traps. Habitat reduction, use of agricultural pesticides and artificial night lighting are thought to be the major causes of such impact on bioluminescent beetle diversity.

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Lights Ahead: Morphology and Life Stages of the Spotted Tortoise Firefly, Aspisoma sticticum Gemminger, 1870 – Fireflies with a Unique Extra Pair of Lanterns on the Larval Pronotum (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)

Cited by 2 publications

References 69 publications

A comprehensive review and call for studies on firefly larvae

A comprehensive review and call for studies on firefly larvae

Inventory and ecological aspects of bioluminescent beetles in the Cerrado ecosystem and its decline around Emas National Park (Brazil)

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