Biology of Business

Photinus Firefly

TL;DR

Photinus fireflies are the victims of aggressive mimicry by Photuris females.

Photinus spp.

Insect

By Alex Denne

Photinus fireflies are the victims of aggressive mimicry by Photuris females. Males respond to species-specific flash patterns from females, but are now evolving discrimination abilities to detect subtle differences in flash timing and intensity that distinguish real Photinus females from Photuris mimics - an ongoing evolutionary arms race.

Notable Traits of Photinus Firefly

  • Evolving mimic discrimination
  • Flash pattern recognition

Related Mechanisms for Photinus Firefly

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