Types of Fireflies

Photurinae

• The Photurinae type of fireflies is native to North America, where they are commonly referred to as "lightening bugs." This classification of firefly includes about 30 different species, which includes the Pennsylvanian Firefly (Photuris pennsylvanica) and the Common Eastern Firefly (Photuris pyralis). North American fireflies are between 1/2 to 1 inch and emit systematic flashes of light, rather than a continuous glow, and tend to have an amber to slightly greenish color.

Luciolinae

• One of the largest classifications of fireflies, the Luciolinae, represent 150 different species of the insect. This type of firefly is distributed all over the world -- predominantly in Europe, East Asia and Australia. The Luciolinae are small fireflies averaging around ½ inch. They uses a system of flashing light that will synchronize if there is more than one of the bug present. Examples of this species include the Japanese Pteroptyx Luciola, Malaysian Pteroptyx valida and Australian Pteroptyx cribellata.

Lampyrinae

• Primarily located in Great Britain and some parts of North America, the Lampyrinae category of fireflies includes various small beetles and glow worms. The distinction between this firefly category is the male and female have different characteristics; the male develops into a beetle, while the female retains its larvae form and is categorized as a glow worm. Though there are some Lampyrinae insects that use flashing light, many of the bugs emit a steady glow. Examples of this type of firefly include the British Lampyris, a bug that radiates a yellowish-green hue, and blue ghost firefly (Phausis reticulate), which shines a faint blue glow.

Primative Fireflies

• Though most firefly species light up, there is a category of the insect that has little to no glow. Scientists believe this type of firefly to be the most primitive species and they fall under the Cyphonocerinae and Otetrinae genus, according to the book by Monika Hilker and Torsten Meiners "Chemoecology of Insect Eggs and Egg Deposition." These types of insects tend to average around 1/2 inch and use pheromones or a hormonal scent, instead of light, to attract the opposite sex, for mating purposes.