Pyrophorini (Bioluminescent click beetles), Pyrophorus, Ignelater, Deilelater, etc.

[Hisserdude]

Thought I'd make a thread to show off some of my bioluminescent click beetles, all in the subfamily Pyrophorini. So far I have three of the five US native species (all three collected by @Lucanus95 ), and of course the giant Pyrophorus noctilucus (which are now fairly well established in the US hobby).

First off I'll show off my most recent additions, Ignelater havaniensis, the largest US native Pyrophorini species, large adults can get a little over an inch long. I received adults about a month ago and now have probably 100 larvae, at least! So far they seem just as easy to breed as other members of this subfamily, and I hope to help establish and circulate them in the US hobby! This species, unlike any of the other cultured Pyrophorini, displays noticeable sexual dimorphism as adults, with males being more slender in build with longer antennae, whereas the females have slightly shorter antennae and are broader in shape. Also unlike any of the other US natives, I.havaniensis have pointed extensions to the tips of their elytra, which makes them easy to tell apart from the smaller Deilelater species which might have overlapping ranges with them.

Here's an adult male:

And now an adult female:

And here is an adult male doing his thing, glowing quite brightly from his two pronotum spots!

Here's a tiny L1 larva, click beetles go through many molts, and not even a set number of molts, not like scarabs that only have three instars:

And lastly, here is a size comparison between my largest Pyrophorus noctilucus adult (left) and my largest Ignelater havaniensis adult (right):

 

[Hisserdude]

Here are Pyrophorus noctilucus, one of the largest Pyrophorini and supposedly this species is among the brightest of the bioluminescent insects! Adults are super beefy for Elaterids and put US native Pyrophorini to shame, larvae are huge too and as is normal for this group of click beetles are mostly predatory when immature.

Here are some pictures I've taken of them throughout the years, starting with adults:

Here are some larvae in various stages of development:

And now a pupa:

 

[Hisserdude]

Now we're getting into the smaller species. This is Deilelater physoderus, this species is found in several of the southern states, but this particular stock comes from George West, TX. I only have CB F1 larvae right now, hopefully I'll be seeing adults in a few months. Here are some pictures of the larvae:

And here are some really grainy pics of one larva glowing defensively, they only do so when pretty spooked, and only glow just being their head capsules:

 

[Hisserdude]

Lastly, we have Deilelater cf. atlanticus, one of our smallest US native Pyrophorini, but they still glow brightly nonetheless! These were collected from Ocala FL last year by @Lucanus95, and he sent me 9 CB larvae, which I've been rearing up for months now. One of them just pupated, so I should be seeing an adult in person soon, hopefully I'll be able to breed these easily!

Some pictures of a small larva:

And now here is a pupa, under normal lighting and then in the dark, so you can see it glowing.

And that's it! The last two US natives I have yet to obtain are Vesperelater arizonicus (only found in far southern AZ), and Deilelater ustulatus (only found in FL, uncommonly seen compared to D.atlanticus and D.physoderus). Would love to keep those species as well, so here's hoping I can source some this year.

 

[Acro]

That's a fantastic post and fantastic pictures! Congrats on your efforts with those species!

I used to live in Miami FL and I would catch glowing click beetles. I wonder what species they were. There used to be so many, they looked like Christmas lights on the pine trees. As the years went by, there numbers were less and less, then I moved. It's been around 20 years, I wonder if they are there anymore . . .

 

[Lucanus95]

That's a fantastic post and fantastic pictures! Congrats on your efforts with those species!

I used to live in Miami FL and I would catch glowing click beetles. I wonder what species they were. There used to be so many, they looked like Christmas lights on the pine trees. As the years went by, there numbers were less and less, then I moved. It's been around 20 years, I wonder if they are there anymore . . .

Those are Ignelater havaniensis. They were extremely abundant out there when I visited Miami. The other species are found a bit further north.

 

[Hisserdude]

That's a fantastic post and fantastic pictures! Congrats on your efforts with those species!

I used to live in Miami FL and I would catch glowing click beetles. I wonder what species they were. There used to be so many, they looked like Christmas lights on the pine trees. As the years went by, there numbers were less and less, then I moved. It's been around 20 years, I wonder if they are there anymore . . .

Thanks! Hoping more people will be interested in breeding these beauties in the hobby!

Yeah those were likely Ignelater havaniensis. They can still be found in numbers in some parts of Miami, but the populations definitely seem to be more scattered and localized thanks to urbanization of the surrounding habitat... :/

 

[Hisserdude]

Video of one of my Ignelater glowing here:

 

[Kazeres]

Pretty cool species! What do larvae need for development?? And adults?

 

[Hisserdude]

Pretty cool species! What do larvae need for development?? And adults?

As far as beetles go, these are some of the easiest I've kept and bred, or at least some of the hardiest in terms of larvae. I have a full caresheet if anyone's interested, but in short, adults feed on fresh fruits (and beetle jellies if you have them), and oviposit in flake soil or crushed rotten wood. Larvae feed on wood for the first few instars instars (a week or two, maybe longer depending on the species and temps), and then become fully predatory. Larvae must be kept separately at this point and can be fed dog food or any similar animal feed, or live/prekilled invertebrate prey. Larvae are super hardy but don't like dryness at all, all life stages need it humid. Larvae take a year or so to mature, adults live 3-6 months.

 

[dragonfire1577]

As far as beetles go, these are some of the easiest I've kept and bred, or at least some of the hardiest in terms of larvae. I have a full caresheet if anyone's interested, but in short, adults feed on fresh fruits (and beetle jellies if you have them), and oviposit in flake soil or crushed rotten wood. Larvae feed on wood for the first few instars instars (a week or two, maybe longer depending on the species and temps), and then become fully predatory. Larvae must be kept separately at this point and can be fed dog food or any similar animal feed, or live/prekilled invertebrate prey. Larvae are super hardy but don't like dryness at all, all life stages need it humid. Larvae take a year or so to mature, adults live 3-6 months.

The lifecycle reminds me a bit of Goliathus, but seemingly a bit less finicky, I'll definitely need to give them a shot one day.

 

[Hisserdude]

The lifecycle reminds me a bit of Goliathus, but seemingly a bit less finicky, I'll definitely need to give them a shot one day.

I make that comparison in my head all the time lol, that's basically what they are care-wise, less picky Goliathus, with hardy AF larvae. Definitely recommend them to any beetle or invert enthusiasts who like bioluminescent animals.

 

[Anraitas]

Made a account just for this! i would love that care sheet and have a ton of questions if you would not mind! (I love Headlight Beetles)