Life cycle and description of the immature stages of a terrestrial firefly endemic to Mexico: Photinus extensus Gorham (Coleoptera, Lampyridae)
The life cycle, morphology, and bionomy of Photinus extensus Gorham, 1881, an endemic species of Mexico, are described. Redescriptions of adults (male and female) are also presented. Larvae were reared to the adult stage from eggs laid by females collected at the El Pedregal de San Ángel Ecological...
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Published in | ZooKeys Vol. 1104; pp. 29 - 54 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Pensoft Publishers
07.06.2022
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Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The life cycle, morphology, and bionomy of
Photinus extensus
Gorham, 1881, an endemic species of Mexico, are described. Redescriptions of adults (male and female) are also presented. Larvae were reared to the adult stage from eggs laid by females collected at the El Pedregal de San Ángel Ecological Reserve, south of Mexico City. The activity period of adults of
P. extensus
begins at the end of July and finishes by the end of August. Females lay between 3 and 198 eggs. Larvae hatch from the eggs after a period of 11 to 71 days, undergo 6 larval instars and a pupal stage in an annual cycle. Morphological characters of the sixth larval instar of
P. extensus
are compared with those of several other genera assigned to the tribe Photinini. Knowledge of the natural history of firefly larvae is relevant since most species do not feed as adults and therefore depend on resources acquired during the larval stage. |
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ISSN: | 1313-2989 1313-2970 |
DOI: | 10.3897/zookeys.1104.80624 |