Lightning Bug Larvae???

gunslinger

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 6, 2006
Messages
356
I found a handful of these under some rotting particle board and put them in a jar to show my son. Later I noticed they were glowing. I've done a little bit of hunting around but I have found no pictures that look the same. So does anyone know if these are some sort of firefly larvae or if not what they might be?






Also can someone tell me why my pics are always so HUGE! I even crop them to make them smaller,and they just stay big :mad:
 

Gigas

Arachnoprince
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Apr 6, 2006
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1,976
I think it is the adult females that glow (they look like the larvae)
 

myrmecophile

Arachnolord
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Dec 22, 2006
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654
Instead of cropping do a resize in your image editing program. Females and larvae of many species glow and tend to look alike.
 

gunslinger

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
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Dec 6, 2006
Messages
356
Im not sure I understand the difference between the Lampyridae larvae and a larviform female. Is a larviform female just a mature one that stays in larval form? Anyhow the link was def. it. Dont know how I didn't see it, I did scour bug guide before posting here. :?

It sure was odd to see one of them glowing thats for sure. Thanks for the ID help.
 

Wade

Arachnoking
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Joined
Aug 16, 2002
Messages
2,929
Yes...some species of beetles have larviform females that are mature but never pupate or develop adult traits. Both are lightningbugs (or fireflies) but from different groups.

Both males and females flash, and the pattern of flashing is unique to the species. I believe most species are predatory. In some species, an adult female will actually flash the pattern of a different species (after already mating with a male of her own species) in order to attract males of the other. When they come to her..she eats them!

Wade
 
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