https://scienceblogs.com/ en https://scienceblogs.com/myrmecos/2009/03/13/friday-beetle-blogging-a-non-glowing-firefly <span>Friday Beetle Blogging: a non-glowing firefly</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p style="text-align:center;"></p> <div style="width: 510px;display:block;margin:0 auto;"><img class="size-full wp-image-2117" title="lucidota1" src="http://myrmecos.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/lucidota1.jpg" alt="Lucidota atra, the black firefly. New York." width="500" height="360" /> <p>Lucidota atra, the black firefly. New York.</p> </div> <p style="text-align:left;">Not all fireflies luminesce.  <em>Lucidota atra</em> is a day-flying species, common in eastern North America, with vestigial light-producing organs.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:xx-small;">photo details: Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS D60</span></p> <p>ISO 100, 1/200 sec, f/13, flash diffused through tracing paper</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="/author/awild" lang="" about="/author/awild" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">awild</a></span> <span>Fri, 03/13/2009 - 05:26</span> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Tags</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/beetles" hreflang="en">Beetles</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/fireflies" hreflang="en">fireflies</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/insects" hreflang="en">insects</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/lampyridae" hreflang="en">lampyridae</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/lucidota" hreflang="en">lucidota</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/photography" hreflang="en">Photography</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/beetles" hreflang="en">Beetles</a></div> </div> </div> <section> <article data-comment-user-id="0" id="comment-2414334" class="js-comment comment-wrapper clearfix"> <mark class="hidden" data-comment-timestamp="1236950061"></mark> <div class="well"> <strong></strong> <div class="field field--name-comment-body field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field--item"><p>I didn't know NY had fireflies. I used to live in PA back in the mid 80s as a kid. I caught them, but they died overnight. I didn't know what to feed them and stuff. I was mean and loved to step on them to see their glow blood. :(</p> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderLinks" arguments="0=2414334&amp;1=default&amp;2=en&amp;3=" token="6dsjaQD_kLTF7LwceJrDCJOp84v9V5wu66WC2I6QVNw"></drupal-render-placeholder> </div> <footer> <em>By <a rel="nofollow" href="http://antfarm.ma.cx" lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Ant (not verified)</a> on 13 Mar 2009 <a href="https://scienceblogs.com/taxonomy/term/32732/feed#comment-2414334">#permalink</a></em> <article typeof="schema:Person" about="/user/0"> <div class="field field--name-user-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field--item"> <a href="/user/0" hreflang="und"><img src="/files/styles/thumbnail/public/default_images/icon-user.png?itok=yQw_eG_q" width="100" height="100" alt="User Image" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /> </a> </div> </article> </footer> </article> <article data-comment-user-id="0" id="comment-2414335" class="js-comment comment-wrapper clearfix"> <mark class="hidden" data-comment-timestamp="1236961096"></mark> <div class="well"> <strong></strong> <div class="field field--name-comment-body field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field--item"><p>"vestigial light-producing organs", that's very interesting.</p> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderLinks" arguments="0=2414335&amp;1=default&amp;2=en&amp;3=" token="kXNRehRIjcsRHsR0XzhO9pCrS9bubj0AifuPI4dqqjM"></drupal-render-placeholder> </div> <footer> <em>By <a rel="nofollow" href="http://snailstales.blogspot.com" lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Aydin (not verified)</a> on 13 Mar 2009 <a href="https://scienceblogs.com/taxonomy/term/32732/feed#comment-2414335">#permalink</a></em> <article typeof="schema:Person" about="/user/0"> <div class="field field--name-user-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field--item"> <a href="/user/0" hreflang="und"><img src="/files/styles/thumbnail/public/default_images/icon-user.png?itok=yQw_eG_q" width="100" height="100" alt="User Image" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /> </a> </div> </article> </footer> </article> <article data-comment-user-id="0" id="comment-2414336" class="js-comment comment-wrapper clearfix"> <mark class="hidden" data-comment-timestamp="1237002672"></mark> <div class="well"> <strong></strong> <div class="field field--name-comment-body field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field--item"><p>I grew up in Queens, NY... and yup, even in the city there were plenty of them.</p> <p>It'd be neat to look and measure how well the vestigial light-producing organs are supplied with tracheae. I'd predict much less so than in sister species that haven't given up their glow, but it'd be nice to know.</p> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderLinks" arguments="0=2414336&amp;1=default&amp;2=en&amp;3=" token="zRmykhgcTX_CyR-si4xn1pvuscQXZ8dE_xS1NfsAqV8"></drupal-render-placeholder> </div> <footer> <em>By <a rel="nofollow" href="http://jewishscientist.wordpress.com" lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">jewishscientist (not verified)</a> on 13 Mar 2009 <a href="https://scienceblogs.com/taxonomy/term/32732/feed#comment-2414336">#permalink</a></em> <article typeof="schema:Person" about="/user/0"> <div class="field field--name-user-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field--item"> <a href="/user/0" hreflang="und"><img src="/files/styles/thumbnail/public/default_images/icon-user.png?itok=yQw_eG_q" width="100" height="100" alt="User Image" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /> </a> </div> </article> </footer> </article> <article data-comment-user-id="0" id="comment-2414337" class="js-comment comment-wrapper clearfix"> <mark class="hidden" data-comment-timestamp="1237250585"></mark> <div class="well"> <strong></strong> <div class="field field--name-comment-body field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field--item"><p>Thanks for posting this, Alex. I'm working (slowly) on a book about fireflies in nature and human culture for a general audience. It is a popular myth that all fireflies glow, and another popular myth that there are no fireflies west of the Rockies. I grew up in Oregon, and our most common fireflies, in the genus <i>Ellychnia</i> are likewise day-active and non-luminescent. Keep up the great work!</p> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderLinks" arguments="0=2414337&amp;1=default&amp;2=en&amp;3=" token="9RwHPacO41_iIoMrT1DGA21OEp7d9hrOH8FGAbMyDjU"></drupal-render-placeholder> </div> <footer> <em>By <a rel="nofollow" href="http://community-2.webtv.net" lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Eric R. Eaton (not verified)</a> on 16 Mar 2009 <a href="https://scienceblogs.com/taxonomy/term/32732/feed#comment-2414337">#permalink</a></em> <article typeof="schema:Person" about="/user/0"> <div class="field field--name-user-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field--item"> <a href="/user/0" hreflang="und"><img src="/files/styles/thumbnail/public/default_images/icon-user.png?itok=yQw_eG_q" width="100" height="100" alt="User Image" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /> </a> </div> </article> </footer> </article> </section> <ul class="links inline list-inline"><li class="comment-forbidden"><a href="/user/login?destination=/myrmecos/2009/03/13/friday-beetle-blogging-a-non-glowing-firefly%23comment-form">Log in</a> to post comments</li></ul> Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:26:40 +0000 awild 131387 at https://scienceblogs.com https://scienceblogs.com/myrmecos/2008/08/29/friday-beetle-blogging-the-pink-glow-worm <span>Friday Beetle Blogging: the Pink Glow-Worm</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p style="text-align:center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-814" src="http://myrmecos.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/microphotus1.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="266" /></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><strong><em>Microphotus angustus -</em> Pink Glowworm</strong></p> <p>California Coast Range</p> <p style="text-align:left;">Believe it or not, this squishy pink thing is an adult beetle.</p> <p style="text-align:left;">Now and again, evolution produces a species that loses the complexities of the adult form. These animals simply retain a larval appearance into their adult life, later gaining only the ability to mate and have offspring independent of the other trappings of maturity. Perhaps the adult traits of large eyes, large brains, long legs, and big wings are so expensive that just skipping all that extra development allows an animal to get on that much more efficiently with the business of laying eggs. In any case, these examples of foregone maturity are scattered throughout the animals: there are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axolotl">salamanders that never grow up</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen_Bagworm">caterpillars that never turn into moths<em>.</em></a><em></em></p> <p style="text-align:left;"><em>Microphotus </em>is a firefly. The adult male looks like a <a href="http://www.torreypine.org/animals/Insects/Microphotus.htm">normal firefly</a>: eyes, wings, the works. As you can see, the female here remains grub-like. True to her lineage, though, she still glows. That's how I spotted her one night as she dragged herself through the leaf litter.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:xx-small;">photo details: Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon D60</span></p> <p>ISO 100, f/13, 1/200 sec, flash diffused through tracing paper</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="/author/awild" lang="" about="/author/awild" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">awild</a></span> <span>Fri, 08/29/2008 - 02:46</span> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Tags</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/beetles" hreflang="en">Beetles</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/insect-links" hreflang="en">Insect Links</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/photography-links" hreflang="en">Photography Links</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/science" hreflang="en">Science</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/firefly" hreflang="en">firefly</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/glowworm" hreflang="en">glowworm</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/lampyridae" hreflang="en">lampyridae</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/tag/beetles" hreflang="en">Beetles</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-blog-categories field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Categories</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="/channel/life-sciences" hreflang="en">Life Sciences</a></div> </div> </div> <section> <article data-comment-user-id="0" id="comment-2413615" class="js-comment comment-wrapper clearfix"> <mark class="hidden" data-comment-timestamp="1220030566"></mark> <div class="well"> <strong></strong> <div class="field field--name-comment-body field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field--item"><p><a href="http://snailstales.blogspot.com/2005/06/fiery-predator-of-snails.html">Here</a> is my post about a firefly larva eating a snail. This is interesting, because there is a family of beetles that are also snail predators, the Drilidae, and their females are also larviform.</p> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderLinks" arguments="0=2413615&amp;1=default&amp;2=en&amp;3=" token="tSkJB3fuxhTWnG03eVZi10tV-sNvJPMNDnJNsSG0zSc"></drupal-render-placeholder> </div> <footer> <em>By <a rel="nofollow" href="http://snailstales.blogspot.com" lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Aydin (not verified)</a> on 29 Aug 2008 <a href="https://scienceblogs.com/taxonomy/term/32732/feed#comment-2413615">#permalink</a></em> <article typeof="schema:Person" about="/user/0"> <div class="field field--name-user-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field--item"> <a href="/user/0" hreflang="und"><img src="/files/styles/thumbnail/public/default_images/icon-user.png?itok=yQw_eG_q" width="100" height="100" alt="User Image" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /> </a> </div> </article> </footer> </article> <article data-comment-user-id="0" id="comment-2413616" class="js-comment comment-wrapper clearfix"> <mark class="hidden" data-comment-timestamp="1220049053"></mark> <div class="well"> <strong></strong> <div class="field field--name-comment-body field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field--item"><p>That's a wonderful gear of photography equipment you've got. And of course an eye to match.</p> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderLinks" arguments="0=2413616&amp;1=default&amp;2=en&amp;3=" token="wd_oksuEElom0bLki8teS_wRjyhLfe2bPKwN8j5IMtg"></drupal-render-placeholder> </div> <footer> <em>By <a rel="nofollow" href="http://grasslords.blogspot.com/" lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">deadmanswill (not verified)</a> on 29 Aug 2008 <a href="https://scienceblogs.com/taxonomy/term/32732/feed#comment-2413616">#permalink</a></em> <article typeof="schema:Person" about="/user/0"> <div class="field field--name-user-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field--item"> <a href="/user/0" hreflang="und"><img src="/files/styles/thumbnail/public/default_images/icon-user.png?itok=yQw_eG_q" width="100" height="100" alt="User Image" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /> </a> </div> </article> </footer> </article> <article data-comment-user-id="0" id="comment-2413617" class="js-comment comment-wrapper clearfix"> <mark class="hidden" data-comment-timestamp="1247039641"></mark> <div class="well"> <strong></strong> <div class="field field--name-comment-body field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field--item"><p>I like it!!!!!</p> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderLinks" arguments="0=2413617&amp;1=default&amp;2=en&amp;3=" token="6fAfzHAYxET0hbou3cyBfoJdYchTPZaFkaTyDNatKuE"></drupal-render-placeholder> </div> <footer> <em>By <span lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">FireFly (not verified)</span> on 08 Jul 2009 <a href="https://scienceblogs.com/taxonomy/term/32732/feed#comment-2413617">#permalink</a></em> <article typeof="schema:Person" about="/user/0"> <div class="field field--name-user-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field--item"> <a href="/user/0" hreflang="und"><img src="/files/styles/thumbnail/public/default_images/icon-user.png?itok=yQw_eG_q" width="100" height="100" alt="User Image" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /> </a> </div> </article> </footer> </article> </section> <ul class="links inline list-inline"><li class="comment-forbidden"><a href="/user/login?destination=/myrmecos/2008/08/29/friday-beetle-blogging-the-pink-glow-worm%23comment-form">Log in</a> to post comments</li></ul> Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:46:51 +0000 awild 131171 at https://scienceblogs.com