Phosphaenus hemipterus
Rove Fireflies ( Phosphaenus hemipterus )
The short wings Fireflies ( Phosphaenus hemipterus ) is a beetle of the family of the Fireflies ( Lampyridae ).
Features
The beetles have a body length of 6-8 millimeters ( males ) or 10 mm (females ). Your body is dark brown and has a reddish tinge. The males have greatly shortened wing covers and see this as compared to other fireflies similar to the female. Their membranous wings are reduced as well, which is why they are like the females flightless. Their antennae are longer than those of the females. Due to the shortened wings, the males are not to be confused with other species. The females have only fine luminous dots.
The larvae are similar to the larvae of the Great firefly ( Lampyris noctiluca ), but they lack the bilateral series reddish dots on their abdomen and they are a bit darker and brighter colored and slender in build and smaller. Your reddish mandibles are nearly at right angles bent, the other Central European species are sickle-shaped.
Occurrence
The species is widespread in the Mediterranean, Central Europe to the Atlantic Ocean and to the south of Scandinavia and England. In North America, the species was introduced. It inhabits meadows, floodplains, forest edges, and dry slopes, as well as gardens and parks and settled humus under rocks and roots.
Way of life
The females lure their partner presumably by pheromones, because they can light up only slightly. The males can find it through their large sensor. The males die shortly after mating, the females a few days after oviposition. The males can be found on trails and in the leaves under trees and bushes. You can light with two point-like light organs, and do, in case of failure. Often you can the about two seconds lasting only very faint glow, following the irregular long pauses, observed in late summer or early fall between 2:00 to 4:00 clock clock early.
The females lay their eggs in the soil, especially at the grass roots in forest soils from. The larvae need about a month to develop. They are mainly active at night and during the day rarely found. You can light up and have two small punctiform light organs. They feed on earthworms, which can be much larger than the larva itself sometimes Pupation takes place in May, the pupal period lasts about a week.