''Photuris'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of fireflies (

beetle 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 ...

s of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Lampyridae). These are the ''femme fatale'' lightning bugs of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. This common name refers to a behavior of the adult females of these

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill t ...

s; they engage in

aggressive mimicry Aggressive mimicry is a form of mimicry in which predators, parasites, or parasitoids share similar signals, using a harmless model, allowing them to avoid being correctly identified by their prey or host. Zoologists have repeatedly compare ...

, imitating the light signals of other firefly

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 appropriat ...

' females to attract, kill, and eat the males. Their flashing

bioluminescent 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 ...

signals seem to have

evolved Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variati ...

independently and eventually adapted to those of their prey, mainly unrelated

Lampyrinae The Lampyrinae are a large subfamily of fireflies (Lampyridae). The exact delimitation, and the internal systematics, have until recently been a matter of debate; for long this group was used as a " wastebin taxon" to hold any fireflies with insu ...

, such as ''

Photinus Photinus (Greek Φωτεινός; died 376), was a Christian bishop of Sirmium in Pannonia Secunda (today the town Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia), best known for denying the incarnation of Christ, thus being considered a heresiarch by the Catholic C ...

'' (

rover fireflies The rover fireflies (''Photinus'') are a genus of fireflies (family Lampyridae). They are the type genus of tribe Photinini in subfamily Lampyrinae. This genus contains, for example, the common eastern firefly (''P. pyralis''), the most commo ...

) or ''

Pyractomena ''Pyractomena'' is a genus of fireflies in the family Lampyridae. There are at least 20 described species in ''Pyractomena''. Species References Further reading * * * * * * * * Lampyridae Lampyridae genera Biolumi ...

''.

Species

At least 64 species are currently recognized, all restricted to temperate North America. They mainly occur from the East Coast to Texas. Species include: *' – Barber, 1951 *'' Photuris bethaniensis''– McDermott, 1953 *' – Barber, 1951 *' – Barber, 1951 *'– LeConte, 1852 *'– LeConte, 1852 *'' Photuris fairchildi''– Barber, 1951 *'– Fall, 1927 *'' Photuris floridana'' – Fall, 1927 *'' Photuris frontalis'' – LeConte, 1852 *' – Barber, 1951 *'' Photuris lineaticollis'' – Motschulsky, 1854 *'' Photuris llyodi'' – McDermott, 1966 *''

Photuris lucicrescens ''Photuris'' is a genus of fireflies (beetles of the family Lampyridae). These are the ''femme fatale'' lightning bugs of North America. This common name refers to a behavior of the adult females of these predatory beetles; they engage in a ...

'' – Barber, 1951 *'' Photuris missouriensis'' – McDermott, 1962 *'' Photuris mysticalampas'' – Heckscher, 2013 *'' Photuris pensylvanica'' – De Geer, 1774 *'' Photuris potomaca'' – Barber, 1951 *'' Photuris pyralomina'' – Barber, 1951 *'' Photuris quadrifulgens''– Barber, 1951 *'' Photuris salina''– Barber, 1951 *' – Barber, 1951 *'' Photuris versicolor'' – Fabricius, 1798 *''

Photuris walldoxeyi ''Photuris'' is a genus of fireflies (beetles of the family Lampyridae). These are the ''femme fatale'' lightning bugs of North America. This common name refers to a behavior of the adult females of these predatory beetles; they engage in aggre ...

''– Faust and Davis, 2019

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1382370 Lampyridae genera Beetles described in 1833 Taxa named by Pierre François Marie Auguste Dejean