Glowworm: Difference between revisions
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==Classification== |
==Classification== |
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Insects known as "glowworms" include members of the following groups: |
Insects known as "glowworms" include members of the following groups: |
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===Order [[Coleoptera]]=== |
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Four families of beetles are bioluminescent and are collectively known as "fireflies." The wingless females and larvae of these species are usually known "glowworms". Winged males may or may not also exhibit bioluminescence. The families are closely related, and are all members of the click beetle superfamily, [[Elateroidea]]. Phylogenetic analyses have indicated that bioluminescence may have a single evolutionary origin among the families Lampyridae, Phengodidae, and Rhagopthalmidae; but is likely to have arisen independently among Elateridae.<ref name="oba">{{cite book|author=Yuichi Oba|editor =Klaus H. Hoffmann|title = Insect Molecular Biology and Ecology|chapter =Insect Bioluminescence in the Post-Molecular Biology Era|publisher =CRC Press|year =2014|page=94|isbn =9781482231892|url =https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=HoMqBgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> |
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* [[Lampyridae]] (fireflies), found around the world. The wingless adult female is the glowworm of literature, especially ''[[Lampyris noctiluca]]'' (the "glow-worm" proper of [[British English]]) found in most of [[Europe]]. In this species the male flies but does not glow. A glow worm looks like a female firefly without wings. In some areas, a [[Firefly]] can also refer to members of the [[Luciola]] genus in the same family, found commonly throughout [[Europe]], in which both the males and the flightless females glow. |
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* Family [[Elateridae]] - The click beetles. Of the estimated 10,000 species classified under this family, around 200 species from tropical regions of the Americas and some [[Melanesia]]n islands are bioluminescent. All of them are members of the subfamily Pyrophorini, except for one species, ''[[Campyloxenus pyrothorax]]'', which belongs to subfamily Campyloxeninae. |
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* [[Phengodidae]], found in [[North America]] and [[South America]] (including [[railroad worm]]s) |
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* Family [[Lampyridae]] - True fireflies. Contains around 2,000 species found throughout the world. |
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* [[Rhagophthalmidae]], found in [[Asia]] |
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* Family [[Phengodidae]] - Contains around 250 species [[endemic]] to the [[New World]]. This family also includes [[railroad worm]]s. |
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* Family [[Rhagophthalmidae]] - Contains around 30 species found in [[Asia]]. Considered by some authors to be a subfamily under either Lampyridae or Phengodidae. |
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* [[Keroplatidae]] (flies, order [[Diptera]]): the genus ''[[Arachnocampa]]'' (formerly called ''Bolitiphila''), found in [[New Zealand]] and [[Australia]] |
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* [[Mycetophilidae]] (flies, order [[Diptera]]): ''[[Orfelia fultoni]]'' ("dismalites"), a single species of [[fungus gnat]], distantly related to ''[[Arachnocampa]]'', found in [[North America]]. |
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Three genera of [[fungus gnat]]s are known as "glowworms" in their larval stage. The larvae spin sticky webs to catch food. They are found in caves, overhangs, rock cavities, and other sheltered, wet areas. They are usually classified under the family [[Keroplatidae]], but this is not universally accepted and some authors place them under [[Mycetophilidae]] instead. Despite the similarity in function and appearance, the bioluminescent systems of the three genera are not [[Homology (biology)|homologous]] and are believed to have evolved separately.<ref name="oba"/><ref name="V">{{cite journal|author=Vadim R. Viviani, J. Woodland Hastings, & Thérèse Wilson|year=2002|title=Two bioluminescent diptera: the North American ''Orfelia fultoni'' and the Australian ''Arachnocampa flava''. Similar niche, different bioluminescence systems|journal=Photochemistry and Photobiology|volume=75|issue=1|pages=22–27|publisher=|doi=10.1562/0031-8655(2002)075<0022:TBDTNA>2.0.CO;2|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11837324}}</ref><ref name="rig">{{cite journal|author=Lisa M. Rigby & David J. Merritt|year=2011|title=Roles of biogenic amines in regulating bioluminescence in the Australian glowworm ''Arachnocampa flava''|journal=Photochemistry and Photobiology|volume=214|pages=3286-3293|doi=10.1242/jeb.060509 |url=http://jeb.biologists.org/content/214/19/3286}}</ref> |
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* Genus ''[[Arachnocampa]]'', around five species found only in [[New Zealand]] and [[Australia]]. The most well-known member of the genus is the New Zealand glowworm, ''[[Arachnocampa luminosa]].'' The larvae are predatory and use their lights to lure prey into their webs. |
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* Genus ''[[Keroplatus]]'', found in [[Eurasia]]. Unlike ''Arachnocampa'' and ''Orfelia'', the larvae of ''Keroplatus'' feed on fungi spores. Their bioluminescence is believed to have no function and is [[vestigial]].<ref name="oba"/> |
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* Genus ''[[Orfelia]]'', sometimes known as "dismalites". Contains a single species, ''[[Orfelia fultoni]]'', found only in [[North America]]. Like ''Arachnocampa'' spp., their larvae are predatory and use their lights to attract prey. |
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==Glow== |
==Glow== |
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Revision as of 09:39, 11 November 2016
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (April 2011) |
Glow worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They may sometimes resemble worms, but all are insects
Classification
Insects known as "glowworms" include members of the following groups:
Order Coleoptera
Four families of beetles are bioluminescent and are collectively known as "fireflies." The wingless females and larvae of these species are usually known "glowworms". Winged males may or may not also exhibit bioluminescence. The families are closely related, and are all members of the click beetle superfamily, Elateroidea. Phylogenetic analyses have indicated that bioluminescence may have a single evolutionary origin among the families Lampyridae, Phengodidae, and Rhagopthalmidae; but is likely to have arisen independently among Elateridae.[1]
- Family Elateridae - The click beetles. Of the estimated 10,000 species classified under this family, around 200 species from tropical regions of the Americas and some Melanesian islands are bioluminescent. All of them are members of the subfamily Pyrophorini, except for one species, Campyloxenus pyrothorax, which belongs to subfamily Campyloxeninae.
- Family Lampyridae - True fireflies. Contains around 2,000 species found throughout the world.
- Family Phengodidae - Contains around 250 species endemic to the New World. This family also includes railroad worms.
- Family Rhagophthalmidae - Contains around 30 species found in Asia. Considered by some authors to be a subfamily under either Lampyridae or Phengodidae.
Order Diptera
Three genera of fungus gnats are known as "glowworms" in their larval stage. The larvae spin sticky webs to catch food. They are found in caves, overhangs, rock cavities, and other sheltered, wet areas. They are usually classified under the family Keroplatidae, but this is not universally accepted and some authors place them under Mycetophilidae instead. Despite the similarity in function and appearance, the bioluminescent systems of the three genera are not homologous and are believed to have evolved separately.[1][2][3]
- Genus Arachnocampa, around five species found only in New Zealand and Australia. The most well-known member of the genus is the New Zealand glowworm, Arachnocampa luminosa. The larvae are predatory and use their lights to lure prey into their webs.
- Genus Keroplatus, found in Eurasia. Unlike Arachnocampa and Orfelia, the larvae of Keroplatus feed on fungi spores. Their bioluminescence is believed to have no function and is vestigial.[1]
- Genus Orfelia, sometimes known as "dismalites". Contains a single species, Orfelia fultoni, found only in North America. Like Arachnocampa spp., their larvae are predatory and use their lights to attract prey.
Glow
The glow worm is a yellow-green colour worm.[clarification needed] The so-called railroad worms in the Phengodidae family have an additional red light at their head. The fly larvae produce a blue-green colour. The glow is produced by different organs in the different families, suggesting they evolved separately, though several other beetle families in the superfamily Cantharoidea also exhibit bioluminescence, suggesting a single origin within this lineage and hence that the lampyrids and phengodids share a bioluminescent ancestor. The chemical reaction in each case is very efficient; nearly 100% of the energy input is turned into light (compared to the best light-emitting diodes (LED) at just 22%).
The purpose of the glow varies. Those adult females that glow do so to attract a male for mating. Lampyridae larvae are believed to glow as a warning signal (see aposematism) to predators like toads not to eat them as they are mildly toxic. But Arachnocampa and Orfelia larvae, on the other hand, glow to attract prey like midges into sticky snare lines for the larva to feed on.
Habitat locations
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- India
- Morocco
- New Zealand
- Waitomo Caves, Waitomo, Waikato
- Waipu Caves Walk, Waipu
- Te Ana-au Caves, Lake Te Anau, Fiordland, South Island
- Leith Valley, Dunedin
- Wellington Botanic Garden
- Hari Hari, Westland
- Le Roys Bush, Auckland
- Shakespear Regional Park, Auckland
- Waimarino Adventure Park, Tauranga
- Hokitika, Westland
- Australia
- Glow-Worm Caves Tamborine Mountain, Southeastern Queensland
- Newnes glow worm tunnel, Blue Mountains, New South Wales
- Helensburgh Old Railway Tunnel, New South Wales
- Natural Bridge, Gold Coast hinterland, Queensland
- Great Otway National Park, Victoria
- Dismals Canyon, Alabama, United States
- Llandudno, Wales, UK
- Lahore, Pakistan
- Havant Thicket, Hampshire UK
- Brighton, East Sussex, UK (Ladies Mile)
Southdowns national park, Newhaven
References
| This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (April 2011) |
- "Glow worm", Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th edition
- "Glow-worm", Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, 1966
- Waitomo Glow Worm Caves
- The UK Glow Worm Survey
- De Cock, Raphaël; Matthysen, Erik (2003). "Glow-worm larvae bioluminescence (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) operates as an aposematic signal upon toads (Bufo bufo)". Behavioral Ecology. 14 (1): 103–108. doi:10.1093/beheco/14.1.103.
- "Glow-worms", Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
External links
- Springbrook Glow Worms Research Centre. All about glow worms [Arachnocampa flava] in the Gold Coast hinterland, Queensland Australia.
- The UK Glow Worm Survey has county-by-county lists of glowworm sites in the UK.
- An introduction to the fireflies and glow-worms of Europe information on the biology, life cycle, bioluminescence and evolution of glow-worms.
- ^ a b c Yuichi Oba (2014). "Insect Bioluminescence in the Post-Molecular Biology Era". In Klaus H. Hoffmann (ed.). Insect Molecular Biology and Ecology. CRC Press. p. 94. ISBN 9781482231892.
- ^ Vadim R. Viviani, J. Woodland Hastings, & Thérèse Wilson (2002). "Two bioluminescent diptera: the North American Orfelia fultoni and the Australian Arachnocampa flava. Similar niche, different bioluminescence systems". Photochemistry and Photobiology. 75 (1): 22–27. doi:10.1562/0031-8655(2002)075<0022:TBDTNA>2.0.CO;2.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Lisa M. Rigby & David J. Merritt (2011). "Roles of biogenic amines in regulating bioluminescence in the Australian glowworm Arachnocampa flava". Photochemistry and Photobiology. 214: 3286–3293. doi:10.1242/jeb.060509.