Voracious Photuris devours firefly prey

http://www.byteland.org/naturalist/firefly_faq.html



This remarkable video shows a voracious Photuris devouring another firefly. After mimicking the flash response of a female firefly, Photuris has pounced upon its prey which was bitten with grooved mandibles that injected a paralyzing venom. Photuris straddles over the victim firefly which is defenseless while Photuris slowly eats it alive. Photuris began eating the soft body tissue around the head of its victim and continued eating while being observed and photographed for over two hours.

This behavior was first reported by Dr. James E. Lloyd who observed Photuris respond to the flash of male Photinus which it then captured and ate.

In this video a large humped-back female Photuris is seen which is preying upon a male Photuris pennsylvanicus. Photuris takes many minutes to slowly eat its prey, biting its prey over and over, injecting highly corrosive, paralyzing siliva into its victim, then ripping and tearing at its tissue, drinking the liquefied body fluids of its prey. This is similar to how firefly as larvae feast upon snails, slugs and earthworms.

What is most remarkable about this particular behavior is that it demonstrates how different species of fireflies have evolved, each developing both physical and behavior aspects which favor their survival. In the case of Photinus, its head is recessed under a large shield-like pronotrum which may help it avoid initial attack and capture by Photuris. In the case of the humped-back Photuris it has developed the ability to mimic the flash response of female's upon which it preys; a large arched body with protruding head and mandibles that are open and can rapidly close and bite its prey injecting them with paralyzing venom, combined with double hooked claws upon its tarsi, aid Photuris in being able to capture its prey.

These humped-back Photuris are the raptorial beasts prey of the firefly world, which lure their prey to their death, mimicking the flash response of females, pouncing upon their victims at the moment they expect to find a mate. Then the voracious humped-back Photuris slowly devour their paralyzed victims alive, biting them over and over, injecting them with saliva that turns their tissue and organs into liquid which Photuris can drink until nothing remain but the exoskeletons of their prey.

After devouring its prey, the voracious humped-back Photuris flies away into the night. It will find a quite place in the leaf litter of the forest and spend a number of days depositing eggs which have been nourished by the body fluids of its prey. Form these tiny, glowing pearl-like eggs will hatch bioluminescent firefly larvae which will spend a year or longer maturing into adults, a life that involves hunting for snails, slugs, earthworms and other soft bodies animals in the mysterious cryptosphere of forest and meadow. After moulting many times the larvae will pupate inside a small chamber and adult fireflies will emerge in several weeks to fly into the summer night, flashing and dancing in search of a mate, often to only find death in the jaws of a voracious humped-back Photuris.

Copyright 2008 by TALGSD. All rights reserved.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• firefly
• photuris
• photinus
• insects
• carniverous
• cannibles
• lightning
• bugs
• feeding
• behavior
• courtship
• mimicking
• mimicry

[goneviral69]

This is a remarkable video of a voracious Photuris feeding upon its prey, another firefly. Please check the description and go to the Firefly FAQ site if you want to learn more about fireflies.

[planetside11]

A Photuris firefly eating a Photinus (smaller species). She lures him down to a the ground in the dark. He thinks she's another Photinus looking to mate with him based on her lighted "answer" to his mating signals. Then when he lands next to her, surprise! She doesn't want to mate with him. She wants to EAT him!

[0ver9kay]

@ITSAJACKAL1111

Like a counter rape...Very well worded.

[pylgrym]

. . . and this all happens (in the largely unseen world) . . . .underwater?

[ITSAJACKAL1111]

@staffxsarge The predator is not actually a firefly, it pretends to be, and then when the male goes to bang it, she eats the motherfucker. Like a counter rape.

[Redrage19]

Blast those illegitimate signallers!!!