Photinus cookii explained

Photinus cookii, or Cook's firefly^[1] is a species of day-active firefly in the beetle family Lampyridae.^[2] It is found in North America in the Eastern USA, including Florida and Texas.^{[3] [4] [5]}

Description

P. cookii is a small beetle, with adults measuring long. The wing covers, or elytra, are dark, with wide, light-colored side margins. The head shield, or pronotum, is pale yellow with a dark bar in the center, reaching from the top of the pronotum to the base. The body has short hairs, which are visible with a microscope. P. cookii does not have working lanterns on its abdomen, although there may be small vestigial lanterns or light patches on the final 2 segments. The males and the females are similar in appearance. ^[1]

Etymology

The genus name Photinus is from the Greek word for shining or bright.^[6] The species was first described by John Wagener Green in 1956.^[7] The species is named as an honorific for Mr. Carl Cook, who had collected the holotype male and other specimens in Carilhope, Kentucky, 11-VII-1946. The species name is therefore noun in genitive case.

Several years later Lloyd (1966) ^[8] published an overview of Photinus in USA, and wrote the name as "Photinus cooki" (i.e. altering the ending to a single "i" as "cooki"), perhaps considering it as a correction; but per nomenclatural regulations in ICZN 31.1, the original spelling of "cookii" is admissible and therefore it is subsequently retained.

Life Cycle

Beetles such as P. cookii go through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Photinus fireflies spend the majority of their lives as larvae, which are bioluminescent and likely live below the soil surface, eating snails, worms, and other soft-bodied invertebrates. Adult P. cookii appear in summer, in June and July.^[1]

Behavior

P. cookii is a non-flashing firefly, active during the day rather than at night. It is believed that these fireflies locate a mate using pheromones.^[1]

Habitat

Adults are seen during the day in gardens, yards, open woodlands, fencerows, and open areas.^[1]

Range

This species has been reported from Missouri to the north, Alabama to the south, North Carolina to the east, and Texas to the west.

Further reading

• Revision of the Nearctic species of Photinus (Lampyridae: Coleoptera). 1956. Green . J. W.. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. Fourth Series. 28. 561–613. 0068-547X.
• Book: Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera, Volume 4: Elateroidea - Derodontoidea - Bostrichoidea - Lymexyloidea - Cleroidea - Cucujoidea. 2007. Lobl . I.. Smetana . A.. Apollo Books. 978-8788757675.

Notes and References

1. Book: Faust . Lynn Frierson . Fireflies, Glow-worms, and Lightning Bugs . 2017 . University of Georgia Press . 978-0-8203-4872-8.
2. Web site: Photinus cookii. Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 2023-07-27.
3. Web site: Photinus cookii. GBIF. 2023-07-27.
4. Web site: Photinus cookii species Information. BugGuide.net. 2023-07-27.
5. Web site: Photinus_cookii. iNaturalist . 2023-07-27 . en.
6. Web site: φωτεινός . Wiktionary, the free dictionary . en . 17 March 2023.
7. Green. J.W.. 1956. Revision of the Nearctic species of Photinus (Lampyridae: Coleoptera). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. Fourth. 28. 15. 561–613. 0068-547X. en.
8. Lloyd. J.E.. 1966. Studies on the Flash Communication System in Photinus Fireflies. Miscellaneous publications (University of Michigan. Museum of Zoology). 130. 1–95. en.