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How do fireflies of the genus Photuris deceive Photinus males?
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Animal behaviour
Charles Darwin, carbon-print photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron, 1868.
Female fireflies of the genus Photuris employ a form of aggressive mimicry to deceive and prey upon males of the genus Photinus.12
The deception relies on the following behavioral sequence:
- Signal Mimicry: When a female Photuris perceives the flashing signal of a male Photinus, she responds with a flash pattern that mimics the specific response time of a female Photinus of the same species.1
- Intensity Adjustment: As the male Photinus approaches, the female Photuris reduces the intensity of her flashes to more closely resemble the weaker signals typically produced by the smaller female Photinus.1
- Predation: The male Photinus, believing he has successfully located a mate, lands near the female. Once he arrives, he is seized and eaten by the Photuris female.12
This behavior is highly specialized; in response to males of her own species, the female Photuris emits a completely different flash pattern to facilitate genuine courtship rather than predation.1