Lucidota atra

Lucidota atra are found in eastern North America. Their range extends west to Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas and south to Mexico.

Adult body length is {{cvt|9 to 12|mm|in|2}}. This firefly has segmented, conspicuous, black antennae that are serrate,{{cite journal |journal=Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification |title=The Fireflies (Coleptera; Lampyridae) of Ontario |last1=Luk |first1=Stephen P.L. |last2=Marshall |first2=Stephen A. |last3=Branham |first3=Marc A. |year=2011 |issue=16 |doi=10.3752/cjai.2011.16|doi-access=free}}{{rp|84}} with males having larger antennae.{{cite book |last=Faust |first=Lynn Frierson |title=Fireflies, Glow-worms, and Lightning Bugs |date=2017 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |isbn=978-0-8203-4872-8|pages=78-81}} The pronotum extends over the head and is usually red and yellow with a medial black stripe or patch,{{cite web |url=https://www.invasive.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=5512176 |title=Firefly (Lucidota atra) |website=Invasive.org Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health |date=October 2018 |access-date=2 August 2022}} but may be dark overall in some individuals.{{cite web |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220802161914/http://www.americaninsects.net/b/lucidota-atra.html |url=http://www.americaninsects.net/b/lucidota-atra.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 August 2022 |title=Lucidota atra Black Firefly |website=American Insects |last=Cresswell |first=Stephen |date=2020}} The compound eyes are smaller than those of nocturnal species like Photinus pyralis. The elytra are black or brown-black and have granulated texture. The light organ is greatly reduced and difficult to discern in the adult.{{rp|30}}{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Sara |title=Silent Sparks, the Wondrous World of Fireflies |date=2016 |publisher=Princeton University Press|pages=164-165|isbn=978-0-691-16268-3}}

This is a firefly that flies actively in daylight. Males fly low, about {{convert|1|to|6|ft|m|spell=in}} from the ground, through forests in midday, seeking females, which are often perched on low vegetation. Most are seen in the late morning to early afternoon. Male Lucidota atra can identify female mating partners by sensing the female's pheromones with their antennae.{{cite journal |doi=10.1093/ee/1.2.265 |author-last=Lloyd |author-first=James E. |title=Chemical Communication in Fireflies |date=1 April 1972 |work=Environmental Entomology |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=265–266|doi-access=free }} Lucidota atra express a characteristic set of odorant receptor genes in their antennae. Both males and females are able to fly.

Adults emerge in early to midsummer. In eastern Canada, larvae eclose beginning in late May, and adult numbers peak in late June to mid-July.{{cite journal |title=The Lampyridae (Coleoptera) of Atlantic Canada |year=2012 |author-last=Majka |author-first=Christopher G. |work=Journal of the Acadian Entomological Society |volume=8 |pages=11–29 |url=http://www.acadianes.ca/journal/papers/majka_11-13.pdf |access-date=21 June 2022}} In the southern Appalachians, numbers peak in mid- to late June.

Once the adults mate, the female lays eggs that hatch in about two to three weeks. The flightless larvae live in moist environments, especially decaying wood, and prey on invertebrates with soft bodies, such as snails and slugs. The advanced larvae or pupae overwinter, becoming adults in early to midsummer.

L. atra are found primarily in open forest or shady open areas.

Adults have no working lanterns, although they often have pale terminal abdominal segments. Larvae are bioluminescent.

{{Reflist|refs=

{{ITIS| title=Lucidota atra (G. Olivier, 1790)|id=722514

| access-date=15 April 2024

}}

{{Cite web| title=Lucidota atra (G. Oliver, 1790) in GBIF Secretariat

| url=https://www.gbif.org/species/1162734

| website=GBIF Backbone Taxonomy

| accessdate=5 August 2022

|date=2021

|doi=10.15468/39omei

}}

{{Cite web| title=Lucidota atra Species Information

|author=Cotinis

| url=https://bugguide.net/node/view/5361

| website=BugGuide.net

| accessdate=5 August 2022

|date=17 July 2021

}}

{{cite thesis |title=What's That Smell? Expression of Odorant Receptors in Lucidota atra, the Black Firefly

|author-last=Svistunov

|author-first=Victor

|institution=Bucknell University

|degree=BSc

|year=2022

|url=https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/honors_theses/614/

|url-access=subscription

|id=614

|access-date=21 June 2022}}

{{cite web|url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.747308/Lucidota_atra|title=Lucidota atra|website=NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer|author=NatureServe|publisher=NatureServe|location=Arlington, Virginia|access-date=10 February 2025|date=31 January 2025}}

}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Lucidota atra|Lucidota atra}}
• {{Wikispecies inline|Lucidota atra|Lucidota atra}}

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Category:Lampyridae

Category:Bioluminescent insects

Category:Articles created by Qbugbot

Category:Beetles described in 1790