| Phengodidae | |
|---|---|
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| A malePhengodes | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Elateriformia |
| Superfamily: | Elateroidea |
| Family: | Phengodidae LeConte, 1861 |
| Subfamilies[1] | |
CydistinaePaulus, 1972MastinocerinaeLeConte, 1881PhengodinaeLeConte, 1861 | |
Thebeetle familyPhengodidae is known also asglowworm beetles, whoselarvae are known asglowworms. The females andlarvae havebioluminescent organs. They occur throughout theNew World from extreme southernCanada toChile, numbering over 250 species in total.[2] The recently recognized members of the Phengodidae, theCydistinae, are found in Western Asia. The familyRhagophthalmidae, an Old World group, used to be included in the Phengodidae.
Larval andlarviform female glowworms arepredators, feeding onmillipedes and otherarthropods occurring insoil andlitter. The winged males, which are often attracted to lights at night, are short-lived and probably do not feed. Females are much larger than the males and are completely larviform. Males may be luminescent, but females and larvae have a series of luminescent organs on trunk segments which emit yellow or green light, and sometimes an additional head organ which emits red light, as inrailroad worms.
This family is distinct from thefireflies (familyLampyridae), which may also be called "glow-worms" in their larval stage. Some early studies suggested that Phengodidae might possibly include (or besister taxon to) the long-lipped beetles,[3] which were formerly treated as a family Telegeusidae, but these are now treated as a subfamily within the familyOmethidae.[4]
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