Notes on the Life History and Mating Behavior of Ellychnia Corrusca (Coloeptera: Lampyridae)

Abstract

Population dynamics and reproductive activity were examined in a Massachusetts population of the common diurnal firefly, Ellychnia corrusca . Although closely related to nocturnal beetles in the genus Photinus , Ellychnia lack adult light organs. A mark-recapture study of overwintering adults demonstrated low winter mortality and supported the hypothesis that adults overwinter for a single year. By dissecting males and females sampled throughout late winter and spring, it was found that adults become reproductively active in early March, when male seminal vesicles first contained sperm and female ovaries first contained mature oocytes. Both sexes mated multiply during the approximately six-week mating season (early April through mid-May), and copulations lasted up to 28 h. Adults collected in fall had higher abdominal fat body volumes than those collected in spring, and females contained more fat body than males. The life history and mating behavior of E. corrusca are discussed in comparison to Photinus fireflies.