#phengodidae

[herpsandbirds]

Spotted in the mountains of NC. What kind of bug is this?

Bug ID - NC, USA:

Henlo, yessss, this is a "glowworm", the larva of a beetle in the genus Phengodes, family Phengodidae.

As the name would suggest, these larvae have bioluminescent organs (as do adult females).

Phengodidae - Wikipedia

Genus Phengodes - BugGuide.Net

[unspokenmantra]

[cnestus]

assorted creatures from work

[onenicebugperday]

@markedpoint submitted: could you help id this thing? i'm in south florida and never seen anything like it before, it had small wings, big antler like antennae, and a very long, nearly flat abdomen, best guess is a type of beetle. i could only get a video of it through the screen so this is the best screenshot i could get

I’m guessing one of the glowworm beetles in Phengodidae, but I’d need to see it from the other side to have a better idea. Since you got a better look at it, though, here’s one of the species found in your area from the top view, maybe you’ll recognize it:

Phengodes plumosa by pgmay

[animalids]

Western banded glowworm (Zarhipis integripennis)

Photo by Marlin Harms

[clingynepenthes]

Male adult railroad worm beetle!

The Phengodidae are beetles commonly known as glowworms. The adult females are wingless, larviform, and have light organs. The adult males, on the other hand, are small winged beetles with reduced elytra and feathery antennae, looking almost like a skinny clear-winged moth.

Most male phengodids don't glow, but there are a few exceptions. Males of the subtribe Mastinocerini actually retain the larval light organs on the abdominal segments, and the most famous of these is the genus Phrixothrix, the railroad worm, named for the paired light-organs on each segment of the larvae and adult female. Like the rest of the Mastinocerini, the male also has these lateral abdominal lights while lacking the cephalic light organs, the "headlights" of the train.

I've never actually seen an adult male railroad worm with his light organs glowing, but it's documented in multiple scientific papers, including one where they actually had male pupa hatch in captivity.

Sadly there’s no picture online of a male with his abdominal lights glowing. It’s attained an almost mythical allure for me. Perhaps one day...

The entire point of this essay was to explain and justify the above design.

[nonbinary-entomologist]

Family Feature:  Phengodidae ( Insecta: Coleoptera)

Common Name: Glow Worms/ Railroad Worms

These beetles are bioluminescent like Fireflies hence the name glow worms. There are about 250 species of Phengodids which are primarily found in the New World. There are 23 species that are found in North America. Phengodid beetles larvae and females glow but not all species have glowing males. Female Phengonids are larviform i.e. they resemble the larval form when fully metamorphosed with some modifications. They are primarily nocturnal. 

These beetles can create several different luciferases, the enzyme that allows for bioluminscence, to glow different colors including red, yellow, and green. Rail road worms females (Phengodidae: Phrixothrix spp.) have a red glowing spot on their head and can turn off the yellow spots along their body while hunting. One reason for the red light is that most arthropods cannot see red light. This may allow the railroad worm to stalk its prey with a light only it can see. Unlike fireflies, it is thought that the lights are not used in courtship but rather as an aposematic warning to predators they they are toxic or distasteful. Males find females through pheromones. Females will glow even when curled around eggs. Some Phengodid species have also been record to give off defensive fluids which are irritants when handled. 

These beetles are primarily predators of milipedes. They will race along the millipede and take it down! 

Bon appetite!

References: Branham, M. (2004). Glow-Worms, Railroad-Worms (Insecta: Coleoptera: Phengodidae). Retrived from: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/beetles/glow-worms.htm.

Coin, P.,  Harpootlian,P., Eiseman,C. & Belov, V. (2004, 2015). Family Phengodidae. Retrived from: https://bugguide.net/node/view/9382

Gunton, M., Hugh-Jones, T., Anderson, J., Charles, E., Devas, F., Hunter, C. P., Napper, E., ... BBC Earth (Firm),. (2017). Planet Earth II.

Siviniski, J. (1993). Other Fires -- Other Flies: The luminescence of fireflies not I. introducing Phengodid glowworms. Fireflyer Companion, 1(1), 4.

Siviniski, J. (1996). Phengodids: Giant glowworm beetles (a taxonomic survey of lanterns and their use). Fireflyer Companion, 1(2), 18-19.

Image Credits:  Top right & Left: Ashley Bradford [X ] [X] Top Bottom: Oliver 1  [X] Body: Lyle Bass [X]

[cnestus]

handsome beasts i saw at work

Platycotis vittata; Phengodes sp. Baconia venusta; Zelus sp. Cleptes sp.; Empicornis sp.