''Luciola substriata'' is a

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 ...

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 ...

found in India, Myanmar, China and Taiwan. The larvae are aquatic and can swim, living in marshes, paddies, lakes and ponds.

Taxonomy

This species was described by Henry Stephen Gorham in 1880, the type locality being Bombay (

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

). ''Luciola formosana'', described by Maurice Pic in 1916, is a synonym.

Description

The male is long and wide; the female is long and wide. The body is yellowish orange, and the elytra have light yellow edges. The head, eyes, antennae, tibiae and tarsi are dark brown. The luminous organ is waxy white, and that of the male is V-shaped. Mature larvae are slender, about long. They are brown, with a hard

cuticle A cuticle (), or cuticula, is any of a variety of tough but flexible, non-mineral outer coverings of an organism, or parts of an organism, that provide protection. Various types of "cuticle" are non- homologous, differing in their origin, structu ...

Distribution and habitat

''L. substriata'' is found in India, Myanmar, China and Taiwan. The larvae live in

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

es,

paddy field A paddy field is a flooded field (agriculture), field of arable land used for growing Aquatic plant, semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in sout ...

s, and lakes and ponds with aquatic plants. In Taiwan, they are found below in elevation. Adults are found from April to December, but they are rare near the end of the year.

Behaviour and ecology

The larvae are aquatic. The first and second

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

larvae probably breathe using both gills and

spiracle Spiracle or spiraculum may refer to: * Spiracle (arthropods), opening in the exoskeletons of some arthropods * Spiracle (vertebrates), openings on the surface of some vertebrates * Spiraculum, a genus of land snails in family Cyclophoridae Cycl ...

s. They mainly crawl on substrates and sometimes back swim. The third to sixth instars do not have gills and use their spiracles to breathe. They back swim, meaning that they swim upside down. Some segments of the abdomen are exposed to the air while swimming, probably in order to breathe. They also crawl on leaves. Larvae eat aquatic snails such as '' Stenothyra formosana'', '' Gyraulus spirillus'', ''

Gyraulus convexiusculus ''Gyraulus convexiusculus'' is a species of freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails. Distribution Distribution of ''Gyraulus convexiusculus'' includes Sistan and Baluchestan ...

'' and ''

Lymnaea stagnalis ''Lymnaea stagnalis'', better known as the great pond snail, is a species of large air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Lymnaeidae. The great pond snail is a model organism to study parasitology, ...

''. Predators of the larvae include the red swamp crayfish, Chinese mitten crab and grass carp. In

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

, larvae overwinter at the bottom of the water. The pupae, about long, are light yellow, some parts beginning to darken after three days. The pupae are enclosed in pupal cells made of earth. Adults live for about nine days, consuming only water. Mating takes several hours, after which the males quickly die. The eggs, orange-yellow in colour, are laid in masses on plants slightly below the water surface. Larvae emerge after about eleven days.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2052115 Lampyridae Bioluminescent insects Insects of India Insects of Myanmar Insects of China Insects of Taiwan Beetles described in 1880