Changeable Firefly
Photuris versicolor
- Least concern
- Card rarity: Common
- Insects
Photuris versicolor, is a species complex of firefly common throughout the Eastern United States. Fireflies famously use flash-based visual signalling to find mates at a distance and each species of firefly has a unique flash pattern sequence that males and females of the same species use to identify one another. Researchers have documented the ability of female P. versicolor to hunt males of other firefly species by mimicking the flash responses of female fireflies of other species. Photuris versicolor appear to target males, such as Photinus pyralis, specifically for the lucibufagin steroids that their prey produce.
Classification
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Coleoptera
- Family
- Lampyridae
- Genus
- Photuris