Why do click beetles glow

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Caitlin on Caterpillar Hunters. Joot on Meal Time. Not only does this type of Longhorn beetle resemble a firefly in size, shape, and color, it even mimics the light-producing abdominal segments with striking similarity to a firefly.

Notice how this beetle has two yellow colored abdominal segments. Fireflies also commonly have two yellow colored light producing segments. It looks like a firefly in the daytime but is it?

The scientific name for this beetle is Acmaeodera flavomarginata, often listed in books as the Yellow-bordered Flower Buprestid, the term buprestid designating the beetle family to which it belongs, Buprestidae.

This insect is an amazing example of mimicry, where another beetle mimics the colors of a firefly as a defense not to get eaten. Fireflies contain steroid like compounds that are poisonous to many animals and other insects. These beetles are occasionally found on flowers and are known to be pollinators.

The yellow on the edges of its wing cover also mimic fireflies yellow coloration on their thorax. Females are wingless and look more like caterpillars than the beetles they are. These are also not bioluminescent, but they also look a lot like fireflies other than that and are related to the firefly family. A variation of the species found in Europe is bright red, reminding the British of red-coated soldiers—hence the name. All bioluminescent insects known so far use the small organic molecule called luciferin to create light.

The glow in both those groups of beetles is mostly for sex; they are flashing a "Come-hither My Body is Ready" message. These larvae probably belong to a group of click beetles called Pyrophorini , or fire beetles. Adults have glowing spots, which Some fire beetle species also have glowing larvae, and one in Brazil lives in old termite nests.

The larvae create an erie wall of glowing dots , first described in These are ferocious predators; an experimenter reported feeding 8 termites to one of the larvae in under a minute. Other bioluminescent larvae found in Brazil have a quite different glow pattern. They primarily seem to light up when they are disturbed, which certainly would startle a predator in the dark.