<i>Photuris lugubris</i> Female Fireflies Hunt Males of the Synchronous Firefly <i>Photinus palaciosi</i> (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)
<i>Femmes fatales</i> (<i>Ff</i>) are female fireflies that hunt and feed on the males of other firefly species that they attract by responding with glows or flashes to their bioluminescent signals. Here, we present field observations demonstrating that <i>Photuris lugu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/10/915 |
| _version_ | 1797431546519486464 |
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| author | Yara Maquitico Aldair Vergara Ilana Villanueva Jaime Camacho Carlos Cordero |
| author_facet | Yara Maquitico Aldair Vergara Ilana Villanueva Jaime Camacho Carlos Cordero |
| author_sort | Yara Maquitico |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Femmes fatales</i> (<i>Ff</i>) are female fireflies that hunt and feed on the males of other firefly species that they attract by responding with glows or flashes to their bioluminescent signals. Here, we present field observations demonstrating that <i>Photuris lugubris</i> females are <i>Ff</i> of male <i>Photinus palaciosi</i>, a synchronous firefly exploited as a tourist attraction in the mountains of central Mexico. We show that the hunting success of the <i>Ff</i> is low, as observed in previous studies, suggesting that the impact of predation on the prey population is low. We present experimental data showing sex-specific hunting behaviour, since only female <i>P. lugubris</i> fed on <i>P. palaciosi.</i> We also present experimental data showing that at least some female <i>P. lugubris</i> mate multiple times; we discuss the implications of this discovery for the switch between the mating and hunting modes of <i>Ff</i>. We discuss open questions, as well as the possible impact of <i>Ff</i> on tourism focused on synchronous fireflies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:45:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4464e4599db74d729b2d7b1e04657eb7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:45:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-4464e4599db74d729b2d7b1e04657eb72023-12-02T00:33:10ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502022-10-01131091510.3390/insects13100915<i>Photuris lugubris</i> Female Fireflies Hunt Males of the Synchronous Firefly <i>Photinus palaciosi</i> (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)Yara Maquitico0Aldair Vergara1Ilana Villanueva2Jaime Camacho3Carlos Cordero4Posgrado en Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México 04510, MexicoCarrera de Biologia, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad de México 54090, MexicoCarrera de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México 04510, MexicoDepartamento de Ecologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de Mexico 04510, MexicoDepartamento de Ecologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de Mexico 04510, Mexico<i>Femmes fatales</i> (<i>Ff</i>) are female fireflies that hunt and feed on the males of other firefly species that they attract by responding with glows or flashes to their bioluminescent signals. Here, we present field observations demonstrating that <i>Photuris lugubris</i> females are <i>Ff</i> of male <i>Photinus palaciosi</i>, a synchronous firefly exploited as a tourist attraction in the mountains of central Mexico. We show that the hunting success of the <i>Ff</i> is low, as observed in previous studies, suggesting that the impact of predation on the prey population is low. We present experimental data showing sex-specific hunting behaviour, since only female <i>P. lugubris</i> fed on <i>P. palaciosi.</i> We also present experimental data showing that at least some female <i>P. lugubris</i> mate multiple times; we discuss the implications of this discovery for the switch between the mating and hunting modes of <i>Ff</i>. We discuss open questions, as well as the possible impact of <i>Ff</i> on tourism focused on synchronous fireflies.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/10/915bioluminescencedeceptive behaviourpredationbehavioural dimorphismpolyandryMexico |
| spellingShingle | Yara Maquitico Aldair Vergara Ilana Villanueva Jaime Camacho Carlos Cordero <i>Photuris lugubris</i> Female Fireflies Hunt Males of the Synchronous Firefly <i>Photinus palaciosi</i> (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) Insects bioluminescence deceptive behaviour predation behavioural dimorphism polyandry Mexico |
| title | <i>Photuris lugubris</i> Female Fireflies Hunt Males of the Synchronous Firefly <i>Photinus palaciosi</i> (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) |
| title_full | <i>Photuris lugubris</i> Female Fireflies Hunt Males of the Synchronous Firefly <i>Photinus palaciosi</i> (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) |
| title_fullStr | <i>Photuris lugubris</i> Female Fireflies Hunt Males of the Synchronous Firefly <i>Photinus palaciosi</i> (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) |
| title_full_unstemmed | <i>Photuris lugubris</i> Female Fireflies Hunt Males of the Synchronous Firefly <i>Photinus palaciosi</i> (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) |
| title_short | <i>Photuris lugubris</i> Female Fireflies Hunt Males of the Synchronous Firefly <i>Photinus palaciosi</i> (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) |
| title_sort | i photuris lugubris i female fireflies hunt males of the synchronous firefly i photinus palaciosi i coleoptera lampyridae |
| topic | bioluminescence deceptive behaviour predation behavioural dimorphism polyandry Mexico |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/10/915 |
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