Nature Atlas

How Nature Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Taxa

Phengodidae

Insect Families

Phengodidae is a family of beetles in the order Coleoptera known as glowworm beetles, whose larvae are called glowworms; both females and larvae are bioluminescent. The family comprises more than 250 species found in the New World from southern Canada to Chile, with a recently recognized subfamily, Cydistinae, occurring instead in Western Asia. Larval and larviform female glowworms are predators of millipedes and other soil-dwelling arthropods, while the short-lived, winged males likely do not feed and are often attracted to lights at night; females, which remain larviform and grow much larger than males, display luminescent organs that emit yellow or green light, occasionally with red-emitting head organs in some species. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Classification
Living or Extinct
Yes 1
Taxonomic Rank
Family 2
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikidata (taxon extant/extinct status)
Wikimedia Foundation / Wikidata contributorsQ690737, descriptionView the Source
2. Phengodidae (Wikipedia)
  • Introduction
    The beetle family Phengodidae is known also as glowworm beetles, whose larvae are known as glowworms.
  • Taxonomic rank (structure-wave classification, ruling 761/926)
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.