Lampyridae

Lampyridae [lam′pir·ə‚dē]

(invertebrate zoology)

The firefly beetles, a large cosmopolitan family of coleopteran insects in the superfamily Cantharoidea.

---

Lampyridae 

(fireflies), a family of nocturnal beetles. The body is elongate and, in females, wormlike. The coloration is dark. In some species the adult females have an organ of luminescence—a modified fatty body—at the end of the abdomen; the larvae and ova of many species also emit light but not as intensely as the adult females. Fireflies feed mainly on mol-lusks. There are about 2,000 species. Lampyris noctiluca is common in the north and in the central zone. Males of this species reach 15 mm in length and fly well; females reach 18 mm in length and are wingless. The species Luciola suturalis, which emits a bright light, is found in the south.