''Lampyris raymondi'' is a

firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Lampyris ''Lampyris'' is a genus of beetles in the Lampyridae. In most of western Eurasia, they are the predominant members of this family and includes the European common glow-worm, which is the type species. They produce a continuous glow;Stanger-Hall, ...

'', belonging to the order

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

Description

''Lampyris raymondi'' can reach an adult size of about . This insect presents a conspicuous sexual dimorphism. The females generally are longer than males (up to 25mm in length). They are larviform, do not have wings and produce a continuous glow ("glowworms"). They use their

bioluminescence Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some b ...

to attract mates. The males are winged, elytra are brown, with a yellow border on the elytral suture. Pronotum is slightly more elongated. The abdomen is yellowish, with a very convex last dorsal segment. The body of the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e is composed by 12 bright black segments. It shows two whitish or pale pink spots at the rear edge of each segment, with four spots on the first segment (corresponding to the pronotum). It can be easily distinguished from ''

Lampyris noctiluca ''Lampyris noctiluca'', the common glow-worm of Europe (see also "glowworm"), is the type species of beetle in the genus ''Lampyris'' and the family Lampyridae. ''Lampyris noctiluca'' presents a conspicuous sexual dimorphism. The males are winge ...

'', that has just two spots on the first segment. In spring these predatory larvae can often be seen on paths in daylight.

Distribution

This species can be found in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, south-east of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

(

Maritime Alps The Maritime Alps (french: Alpes Maritimes ; it, Alpi Marittime ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the regions of France, French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the regions of Italy ...

, west of the

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

) and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, at an elevation up to .Hallan, J
Synopsis of the described Coleoptera of the World

References

External links

Natura Mediterraneo

* Geisthardt M., 1985
Materials for a revision of the genus lampyris
Lampyridae Beetles of Europe Bioluminescent insects Taxa named by Étienne Mulsant Beetles described in 1859 {{Lampyridae-stub