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. 2023 Mar 24;11:e98948. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.11.e98948

New distributional records of fireflies (Coleoptera, Lampyridae, Luciolinae) from two Eastern States of India with notes on their biology and an updated Indian checklist

Srinjana Ghosh 1, Subhankar Kumar Sarkar 2,✉, Susanta Chakraborty 3
PMCID: PMC10848650  PMID: 38327378

Abstract

Background

The subfamily Luciolinae Lacordaire, 1857, a group of flashing fireflies, is composed of approximately 400 described species in the world. Though the taxonomy of this group has been fairly well established in Southeast (SE) Asia and the Australopacific Region, there is scope of gathering further information regarding taxonomic knowledge on this group from India. Until now, 32 Luciolinae species from nine genera have been reported from India, which is only about 8% (32 out of 400) of the world Luciolinae fauna. With this in mind, several faunistic surveys were conducted in Odisha and West Bengal States of India to explore the firefly fauna of the two States.

New information

The faunistic surveys conducted in the Odisha and West Bengal States of India have revealed six new distributional records of Luciolinae firefly species belonging to the genera Abscondita Ballantyne, Lambkin & Fu 2013, Asymmetricata Ballantyne 2009, Pteroptyx Olivier 1902 and Sclerotia Ballantyne 2016 in the two States, earlier which were recorded from other States of India. Of the already recorded species, Abs.perplexa is recorded for the first time from both the States, whereas Abs.chinensis, Asy.ovalis and Scl.aquatilis present new records for Odisha State and Pt.malaccae and Scl.substriata for West Bengal State. The newly-recorded taxa are presented with their examined materials, diagnoses and brief biological notes. Some more distinguishing characters were added for the male genitalia of Abs.perplexa and Asy.ovalis. Further, a checklist of Luciolinae firefly species already recorded from India is also presented.

Keywords: Asia, distribution, flashing firefly, Oriental, taxonomy

Introduction

The family Lampyridae Rafinesque, 1815 is composed of approximately 2400 species distributed over 144 genera and 12 subfamilies (McDermott 1966, Branham 2010, Martin et al. 2017, Martin et al. 2019, Ferreira et al. 2019, Ferreira et al. 2020, Bocakova et al. 2022). Of these, the subfamily Luciolinae Lacordaire, 1857 alone consists of more than 400 described species distributed over 32 genera (Ballantyne et al. 2015, Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019). The Southeast (SE) Asia and the Australopacific Region possess a remarkable asset of Lucioline species (~ 303 species) (Ballantyne et al. 2019). Countries in Southeast Asia have a high firefly biodiversity (Ballantyne et al. 2019, Jusoh et al. 2021).

India, though it is recognised as one of the mega-diverse countries of the world, its firefly fauna is very much understudied and has not received much attention for the last 100 years or so. Until now, only 32 Luciolinae species belonging to genera Abscondita Ballantyne Lambkin & Fu, 2013 (three species), Asymmetricata Ballantyne, 2009 (three species), Curtos Motschulsky, 1854 (two species), Inflata Boontop, 2015 (one species), Luciola Laporte, 1833 (15 species), Pteroptyx Olivier, 1902 (one species), Pygoluciola Wittmer, 1939 (four species), Pyrophanes Olivier, 1883 (one species) and Sclerotia Ballantyne, 2016 (two species) have been reported from India (Gorham 1895, Gorham 1903, McDermott 1966, Ballantyne et al. 2013, Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019, Ghosh et al. 2021). Of these, Abs.chinensis, Abs.terminalis, Asy.ovalis, L.gigas, L.pallidipes, Py.nitescens, Py.vitalisi, and Scl.aquatilis have been reported from the State of West Bengal, while only Abs.terminalis has been reported from the State of Odisha until now (Gorham 1880, McDermott 1966, Ballantyne et al. 2019, Ghosh et al. 2021).

It is with this background that several faunistic surveys for Luciolinae fireflies have been conducted in two eastern States of India (Odisha and West Bengal) during February 2017 to March 2020. The survey results also confirmed the further occurrence of the above-mentioned species in India and in these two States. Additionally, Abs.perplexa is recorded for the first time from both States, whereas Abs.chinensis, Asy.ovalis and Scl.aquatilis present new records for Odisha State and Pt.malaccae and Scl.substriata for West Bengal State. Until now, Abs.perplexa had records from Assam and Madhya Pradesh States, Abs.chinensis from Assam, Bihar, Maharashtra and West Bengal States, Asy.ovalis from Goa and West Bengal States, Pt.malaccae from Tamilnadu State, Scl.aquatilis from Maharashtra and West Bengal States and Scl.substriata from Assam and Maharashtra States (Gorham 1880, Ballantyne et al. 2013, Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019).

Moreover, an Indian checklist (Table 1) of Luciolinae fireflies is also compiled mostly on the basis of Ballantyne et al. (2019) and all other available literature including the publications (Das and Dev Roy 1989, Sengupta and Mukhopadhyay 1990, Kacker 1993, Agarwal and Ghose 1995a, Agarwal and Ghose 1995b, Agarwal and Ghose 1995c, Majumder and Dey 2005, Mitra 2005, Roy and Nandi 2012) of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the records (Kapur 1955) of the Indian Museum.

Materials and methods

Study sites

The surveys were carried out in selected study sites of the two eastern States of India (Fig. 1), representing contrasting characteristics with respect to habitat, ecological attributes and anthropogenic interaction types and levels. The study sites are:

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

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Map of the study area indicating collection points of newly-recorded species (India in inset highlighting the two eastern States).

Tropical moist deciduous forest of Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary and its associated areas. Located in the Balasore District of Odisha State, the site is spread over an area of around 272.75 km2 and exhibits a typical mixture of semi-evergreen riparian forests, peninsular (coastal) Sal Forest (Shorearobusta) and tropical moist deciduous forest.

Coastal zone of Chandipore. Situated along the Bay of Bengal in the northern part of the east coast of India in the Balasore District of Odisha State, the site represents typical marshy tidal flat with sandy alluvial soil type.

Mixed dry deciduous vegetation patch of Keonjhar. The site exhibits tropical mixed dry deciduous vegetation with underneath granite rocks and its metamorphs consisting of significant mineral assets like iron ore, manganese and chromites.

Himalayan foothills of Darjeeling. The site has a characterised substratum with sandstone and conglomerate formations, horizontal layers of unconsolidated sand, silt, pebbles and gravel, covered with tropical deciduous vegetation prominently represented by Sal trees.

Southern Gangetic plains. The site has deltaic alluvial soil characterised by evergreen vegetation and prevalent humid climate.

Mangrove forests of Sundarban Biosphere Reserve. The site represents various islands having typical mangrove patches and areas with reclaimed land forms.

Gurguripal Eco Forest. The site is a forest-based rural area with highly eroded red lateritic soil with tropical evergreen and mixed deciduous Sal Forest.

Coastal alluvial plain of Egra. Situated in the lower part of the coastal tract in West Bengal, the area is covered by alluvial plains with scarcely distributed halophytic vegetation.

Specimen collection and identification

The specimens were collected through random and selective (display plant based) net sweeping and hand-picking techniques, guided mainly by their luminescent display. Specimens after collection were preserved in 70% ethanol in glass vials. Species identification was done following the keys of Ballantyne and Lambkin (2009), Ballantyne and Lambkin (2013), Ballantyne et al. (2016), Ballantyne et al. (2019), Jusoh et al. (2018) and Jusoh et al. (2021). Photographs were captured by wi-fi digital microscope (Tobo) and CMOS camera (MAGCAM DC5) attached to a stereozoom trinocular microscope (OLYMPUS SZX7). The abbreviations and terminologies used in this work are based on Ballantyne and Lambkin (2013), Ballantyne et al. (2013), Ballantyne et al. (2016) and Ballantyne et al. (2019) and are as follows: ASD – distance between antennal sockets; ASW – antennal socket greatest diameter; BP – Basal piece of aedeagus; GHW – greatest head width (across eyes, measured parallel to ASD); L – Length; LL – Lateral lobes of aedeagus; LO – Light organs; ML – Median lobe of aedeagus; MN – Mesonotum; MPP – Median posterior projection of ventrite 7, male only; MN – Mesonotum; MS – Mesoscutellum; PLP – Posterolateral projection of Ventrite 7, male only; PN – Pronotum; T7, T8 etc. – Visible abdominal tergites; V3,V4,….V7 etc. – Abdominal ventrites, referred to by actual, not visible numbers; W – Width; a, b – aedeagal dimensions (a = distance from dorsal base of lateral lobes to apex of median lobe, b = distance from dorsal base of lateral lobes to apex of lateral lobes, expressed as b/a).

Material deposition

The specimens are deposited in the entomological collections of the Ecology Laboratory of the Department of Zoology, Vidyasagar University (VUEC), Midnapore (West), West Bengal, India.

Taxon treatments

Abscondita chinensis

(L., 1767)

BEB57D66-3523-5752-9C9E-163FC92CF50A

Materials

  1. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 2 males, 4 females; occurrenceID: AB0E20C1-3457-5C1B-9559-3082E7AEDB29; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: Odisha; locality: Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary; verbatimCoordinates: 21°25'12''N, 86°43'48''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Sweep net; eventDate: 24-April-17; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0002, VUEC-0003, VUEC-0004, VUEC-0005, VUEC-0006, VUEC-0007; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  2. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 1 male, 6 females; occurrenceID: AA35C61D-0225-51DD-AA9E-5EE08EEA9701; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: Odisha; locality: Area near Rissia Dam adjacent to Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary; verbatimCoordinates: 21°27'46''N, 86°35'30''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 27-April-17; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0008, VUEC-0009, VUEC-0010, VUEC-0011, VUEC-0012, VUEC-0013, VUEC-0014; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  3. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 3 males; occurrenceID: 903426A8-D149-55CF-820E-2AC20FB6DE6F; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: area near Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary, South 24 Pargana; verbatimCoordinates: 22°7'12''N, 88°46'49''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 7-July-17; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0022, VUEC-0023, VUEC-0024; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  4. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 2 maless; occurrenceID: E6A23DBE-2E55-5D13-9339-BAC0EDA1C5B2; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Egra, East Midnapor; verbatimCoordinates: 21°53'56''N, 87°31'48''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 11-February-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0028, VUEC-0029; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  5. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 2 males; occurrenceID: 57CA9944-BFE0-5BB7-AC86-AB4D2F5B0292; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Sonarpur, South 24 Pargana; verbatimCoordinates: 22°26'57''N, 88°23'25''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking, Net sweeping; eventDate: 11-March-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0030, VUEC-0031; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  6. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: A2FD83B4-8675-54D4-8ECD-9F1D16C228A9; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Indrapore village, South 24 Pargana; verbatimCoordinates: 21°39'00''N, 88°24'36''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking,; eventDate: 15-March-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0033; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  7. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 4 males; occurrenceID: 49E7C22A-2DBF-5D84-97F1-B80C2453E2F8; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Enayetpur, Kulpi, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 22°04'44''N, 88°14'42''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 3-May-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0036, VUEC-0037, VUEC-0038, VUEC-0039; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  8. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 2 males;; occurrenceID: D420B15D-41BA-5D37-8904-061AF251FA89; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: Odisha; locality: near Chandipore coast, Balasore; verbatimCoordinates: 21°29'36'' N, 86°55'19''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 8-May-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0040, VUEC-0041; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  9. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 2 males; occurrenceID: CAE05A54-5AEC-5A0E-9BC0-C9F33802AE87; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Kawakhali village, Darjeeling; verbatimCoordinates: 26°41'41''N, 88°23'28''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Net sweeping; eventDate: 15-July-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0057, VUEC-0058; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  10. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 2 males; occurrenceID: AA254A00-E2F3-5443-80A6-DCE0566D1028; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: North Bengal University Campus, Darjeeling; verbatimCoordinates: 26°41'24''N, 88°23'59''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Net sweeping; eventDate: 16-July-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0061, VUEC-0062; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  11. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 4 males; occurrenceID: E26D41E7-BCEC-56A4-9574-42284D9FB059; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Naihati, North 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 22°52'48''N, 88°25'48''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Net sweeping; eventDate: 25-August-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0066, VUEC-0067, VUEC-0068, VUEC-0069; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  12. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 5 males; occurrenceID: 13F07B37-3990-5D5D-B509-45517EEB941A; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Pailan, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 22°25'12''N, 88°17'59''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 22-February-19; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0071, VUEC-0072, VUEC-0073, VUEC-0074, VUEC-0075; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  13. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 2 males; occurrenceID: 7299EACE-E4AA-57B9-97D5-0D70D6FF5A02; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Kalash Island, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 21°35'24''N, 88°34'50''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 15-March-19; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0082, VUEC-0083; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  14. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 2 males; occurrenceID: 61900470-36F7-5008-A6F8-8B0B393CC555; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Bonnie Island, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 21°49'50''N, 88°37'26''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 17-March-19; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0084, VUEC-0085; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  15. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 2 males; occurrenceID: E3B0AE9D-3CF3-5953-8FFB-A9CF0A994424; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Dhainchi Island, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 21°42' 05''N, 88°26'00''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 18-March-19; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0086, VUEC-0087; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

  16. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 2 males, 2 females; occurrenceID: BE06C6E0-3C5B-5DE0-A584-92ACD3CE7290; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditachinensis (L., 1767); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: IND; stateProvince: Odisha; locality: Judia, Keonjhar; verbatimCoordinates: 21°37'48''N, 86°34'14''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 24- March-19; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0092, VUEC-0093, VUEC-0094, VUEC-0095; basisOfRecord: Preserved specimen

Diagnosis

Length 8–10 mm; Width 2.8–3.2 mm; Abs.chinensis is one of the three species of Abscondita (Abs.chinensis, Abs.perplexa and Abs.terminalis) present in India, which is characterised by the pale dorsum with dark brown to black elytral apices (Fig. 2). PN, MS, ventral thorax and elytra pale brown with the elytral apices black and occupying approximately 1/6 of its total length, MN pale yellow, antennae and palpi dark brown, terminal abdominal tergites dark brown, ventral abdomen brownish-yellow, white LO on V6 and V7, legs brownish-yellow with the tips of tibae and tarsi dark brown. The species can be distinguished from other Abscondita species known from India by the following set of male characters: completely dark brown V5 (in Abs.perplexa and Abs.terminalis, the V5 is partly dark along the posterior margin only). Male genitalia (Fig. 3): Aedeagal sheath sternite terminated into two apically acute divergent lobes (in Abs.perplexa and Abs.terminalis, aedeagal sheath sternite is terminated into two apically rounded lobes); ML shorter than LL, gradually narrowed towards the apex, with the tips of LL blunt and extended beyond the tip of ML (in Abs.perplexa, both LL are longer than ML and the tip of ML is projecting beyond the tips of LL).

Absconditachinensis (L., 1767).

Figure 2a.

Figure 2a.

Male dorsal habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm;

Figure 2b.

Figure 2b.

Male ventral habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm;

Figure 2c.

Figure 2c.

Female dorsal habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm;

Figure 2d.

Figure 2d.

Female ventral habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm.

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Genitalia of Absconditachinensis (L., 1767).

Figure 3a.

Figure 3a.

Aedeagal sheath dorsal. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 3b.

Figure 3b.

Aedeagal sheath ventral. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 3c.

Figure 3c.

Aedeagus dorsal. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 3d.

Figure 3d.

Aedeagus ventral. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

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Biology

Adults of Abs.chinensis generally prefer open forested and grassland areas. These fireflies emit a luminescent flashing pattern, particularly during their mating season in early monsoon. During flight, males generally achieve an average height of 2 to 3 metres in forest and grassland habitat. Females answer to male courtship flashes from the substratum level or from the perching sites on ground vegetation. Bioluminescent larvae, which are terrestrial and inhabit places near aquatic bodies, show a carnivorous diet pattern and sometimes also cannibalism particularly when there is a scarcity of food (Ballantyne et al. 2013).

Abscondita perplexa

(Walker, 1858)

E1AB208C-5371-5379-BE6E-B86FAFAEA309

Materials

  1. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 3 males; occurrenceID: 2724AA64-FC90-5119-9559-B486898C7827; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditaperplexa (Walker, 1858); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: Odisha; locality: area near Rissia Dam adjacent to Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, Balasore; verbatimCoordinates: 21°27'46'' N, 86°35'30'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 26-April-17; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0057, VUEC-0058, VUEC-0059; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  2. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: B5F02DD6-DB27-5834-8012-FA3DC9337607; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditaperplexa (Walker, 1858); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Behala, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 22°30'23" N, 88°19'18" E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 22-June-17; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0020; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  3. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: 56461559-3A80-5A56-B8E6-EC0E661F20C5; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditaperplexa (Walker, 1858); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Sonarpur, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 22°26'57'' N, 88°23'25'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 11-March-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0032; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  4. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: 4AD6E883-E83E-5B25-8341-248B7E4E715D; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditaperplexa (Walker, 1858); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: near Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary, Sundarban Biosphere Reserve, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 22°7'12'' N, 88°46'49'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 16-March-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0034; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  5. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Santu Paria; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: A165769B-07C9-56C6-B114-DB8E3EDBD4DE; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditaperplexa (Walker, 1858); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Gurguripal Eco Forest, West Midnapore; verbatimCoordinates: 22°25'48'' N, 87°13'12'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 11-May-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0043; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  6. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: 8D836B9B-7F0F-5BDF-A91E-939A67A1E359; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditaperplexa (Walker, 1858); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: Odisha; locality: Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, Balasore; verbatimCoordinates: 21°25'12''N, 86°43'48'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 27- May-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0056; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  7. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: 78755CF3-8382-525A-A403-EA58B964C3C1; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditaperplexa (Walker, 1858); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Shimla,Serampore, Hooghly; verbatimCoordinates: 22°44'27'' N, 88°19'24'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 1-July-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0064; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  8. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: 7C5269D5-3EBA-529F-9839-2466E2AE452E; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditaperplexa (Walker, 1858); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Kawakhali village, Darjeeling; verbatimCoordinates: 26°41'41'' N, 88°23'28'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 15-July-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0065; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  9. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: E42CE528-C215-57D3-B14C-E5B3F76A5320; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditaperplexa (Walker, 1858); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Naihati, North 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 22°52'48'' N, 88°25'48'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 27-September-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0070; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  10. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 2 males; occurrenceID: 905C7191-8EF5-5E6F-A4FE-4938E42B9C6F; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditaperplexa (Walker, 1858); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Pailan, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 22°25'12'' N, 88°17'59'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 22-February-19; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0076, VUEC-0077; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  11. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 1 male, 3 females; occurrenceID: 55FF1428-40B5-5FDD-B7BB-01E815DCCA97; Taxon: scientificName: Absconditaperplexa (Walker, 1858); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: Odisha; locality: Judia, Keonjhar; verbatimCoordinates: 21°37'48'' N, 86°34'12'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Net sweeping; eventDate: 24- March-19; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0060, VUEC-0061, VUEC-0062, VUEC-0063; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

Diagnosis

Length 7–10 mm; Width 2.5–3.5 mm; Abs.perplexa is one of the three species of Abscondita (Abs.chinensis, Abs.perplexa and Abs.terminalis) present in India which is characterised by a pale dorsum with dark brown to black elytral apices (Fig. 4). PN, MN, MS and semi-transparent elytra pale brown, with the elytral apices black and occupying approximately 1/6 of its total length, head between eyes, labrum, antennae, palpi, apical part of tibiae and all tarsi dark brown, ventrites yellowish-orange, V6 and V7 occupying white LO. The species can be distinguished from other Abscondita species known from India by the following set of male characters: terminal abdominal tergites pale yellow (in Abs.chinensis and Abs.terminalis, abdominal tergites are dark brown), V5 bearing a medially notched and laterally broad dark patch along the posterior margin (in Abs.chinensis, the V5 is entirely dark). Male genitalia (Fig. 5): Aedeagus twice as long as wide (L:W = 0.5:0.25); ML longer than LL, gradually narrowing towards the apex, with the tip of ML projecting beyond the tips of LL (in Abs.chinensis and Abs.terminalis, both LL are longer than ML and the tip of ML is not projecting beyond the tips of LL), ML broader at base than LL; BP sclerotised, concave at its inner margin; LL subparallel-sided and fused with ML along most of the dorsal length, except in the separated apical 1/5 part; aedeagal sheath sternite terminated into two apically rounded lobes (in Abs.chinensis, the sheath sternite is terminated into two apically acute divergent lobes).

Absconditaperplexa (Walker, 1858).

Figure 4a.

Figure 4a.

Male dorsal habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm;

Figure 4b.

Figure 4b.

Male ventral habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm;

Figure 4c.

Figure 4c.

Female dorsal habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm;

Figure 4d.

Figure 4d.

Female ventral habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm.

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Male genitalia of Absconditaperplexa (Walker, 1858).

Figure 5a.

Figure 5a.

Aedeagal sheath dorsal. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 5b.

Figure 5b.

Aedeagal sheath ventral. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 5c.

Figure 5c.

Aedeagus dorsal. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 5d.

Figure 5d.

Aedeagus ventral. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

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Biology

Adults of Abs.perplexa generally prefer open grassland area, but are also found on vegetation patches, near aquatic sites. Their oviposition sites include leaf litter or dry leaf beds. Larvae are nocturnal, glow weakly and were observed on plant debris and leaf litter in terrestrial habitats (Ballantyne et al. 2013).

Notes

This is a tentative identification, based solely on morphology.

Asymmetricata ovalis

(Hope, 1831)

538085B0-BA1C-5610-884F-9E17F3B80D03

Materials

  1. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghos; sex: 2 males; occurrenceID: 9E8ED297-C7D3-5878-BCB7-3EEE003496B3; Taxon: scientificName: Asymmetricataovalis (Hope, 1831); family: Luciolinae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: Odisha; locality: Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, Balasore; verbatimCoordinates: 21°25'12'' N, 86°43'48'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Net sweeping; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0054, VUEC-0055; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

Diagnosis

Length 9–9.5 mm; Width 3.2–3.5 mm. Ventral thorax yellow, V3-V5 dark brown, LO white, legs yellow with the apical part of tibiae and all tarsi dark brown (Fig. 6). Asy.ovalis can be distinguished from other species of the genus by the following set of male characters: elytra dark brown to black with the sutural and lateral margins pale yellow (Asy.bicoloripes is with pale yellowish-brown dorsum, elytra pale brown bearing dark brown basal and apical parts in Asy.humeralis); PN brownish-orange (in Asy.humeralis, there are paired median dark spots on pronotum); V6 and V7 having white LO with the LO in V7 bipartite (whereas LO is entire in Asy.circumdata); base of PN bisinuate; ASD < ASW; apex of MPP narrowly rounded. Male genitalia (Fig. 7): Aedeagus longer than wide (L/W =1.8); LL are of equal length and slightly shorter than ML (length of LL/length of ML = 0.6), asymmetrical, inner lateral margin of LL diverging from ML for about 4/5 of their length, outer lateral margin sinuate, apex of right LL out-turned, LL apex width greater than ML apex width, ML pointed and little produced beyond LL, BP hooded with its margin facing ML and LL, concave and covering the basal parts of ML and LL; aedeagal sheath L/W= 3.75, posteriorly symmetrical and subparallel-sided, posterior margin of sheath sternite broad and slightly asymmetrically emarginated, anterior part of sternite apically rounded; lateral arms of sheath tergite extended narrowly to the anterior sides of sheath sternite.

Asymmetricataovalis (Hope, 1831).

Figure 6a.

Figure 6a.

Male dorsal habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm;

Figure 6b.

Figure 6b.

Male ventral habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm.

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Male genitalia of Asymmetricataovalis (Hope, 1831).

Figure 7a.

Figure 7a.

Aedeagal sheath dorsal. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 7b.

Figure 7b.

Aedeagal sheath ventral. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 7c.

Figure 7c.

Aedeagus dorsal. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 7d.

Figure 7d.

Aedeagus ventral. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

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Biology

Adult males of Asy.ovalis were found flying at a height of around 5 metres, often reaching the mid- to upper canopy level in forest habitat. Some of these were collected when they came down by sweep net and identified in the laboratory. Females and larvae are terrestrial (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2009, Ballantyne et al. 2019).

Pteroptyx malaccae

(Gorham, 1880)

32CE3E02-7C99-5856-A61E-1B43E57FD303

Materials

  1. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: 04F5F577-6780-5BBF-B254-AD5ACE09CCF3; Taxon: scientificName: Pteroptyxmalaccae (Gorham, 1880); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; locality: near Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary, Sundarban Biosphere Reserve, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 22°7'12'' N, 88°46'49'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0001; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  2. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: 5EBAF084-18C2-5437-A4A8-B7855CA5CF0C; Taxon: scientificName: Pteroptyxmalaccae (Gorham, 1880); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; locality: Dhainchi island, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 21°42'05'' N, 88°26'00'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0035; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  3. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: 6C7729A3-6B46-53FB-BD57-3E18E0899940; Taxon: scientificName: Pteroptyxmalaccae (Gorham, 1880); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; locality: Bonnie Island, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 21°49'50'' N, 88°37'26'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0081; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

Diagnosis

Length 5–6.5 mm; Width 1.5–1.8 mm; PN, MN and MS brownish-yellow, thorax ventrally yellowish-orange, elytra bright brownish-yellow with its apices black, head between eyes, antennae and palpi dark brown, legs brownish-yellow with the tibae and tarsi brown, terminal abdominal tergites yellow, ventrites brownish-yellow, tip of PLP brown, V6 and V7 having white LO with the LO in V7 bipartite (Fig. 8). Pt.malaccae can be distinguished from other species of the genus by the following set of male characters: apex of FS1 strongly produced laterally; elytra almost parallel-sided with its apices deflexed and lacking depressions (Pt.gelasina possesses depressions at the elytral apices); elytral apices twice as long as wide (Pt.truncata, in contrast, bears comparatively shortened elytral apices); hind-tibae expanded; posterior margin of T8 without lobes; V7 with a broad and deep semicircular emargination along its posterior margin separating the MPP and PLP, with the PLP slenderly produced (PLP is comparatively narrower in Pt.gelasina and, in Pt.maipo, Pt.sulawesiensis and Pt.valida, the PLP of V7 are scarcely produced and broadly rounded). Male genitalia (Fig. 9): Aedeagus slender, elongated, symmetrical, aedeagus b/a 0.9, LL are of equal length, slightly shorter than ML, separated by half of their dorsal length, lack lateral hairy appendages and slender leaf-like projections along their outer ventral margins and inner margins respectively, ML symmetrical, narrow and tube-like, not bearing paired lateral teeth and without ventral inclination, BP bluntly pointed, lightly sclerotised; aedeagal sheath symmetrical, apically rounded, aedeagal sheath sternite relatively narrower at the anterior half, widest at the middle and tapers almost symmetrically towards an entire narrow apex, paraprocts bulbous, L/W = 3/1.

Pteroptyxmalaccae (Gorham, 1880).

Figure 8a.

Figure 8a.

Male dorsal habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm;

Figure 8b.

Figure 8b.

Male ventral habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm.

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Male genitalia of Pteroptyxmalaccae (Gorham, 1880).

Figure 9a.

Figure 9a.

Aedeagal sheath dorsal. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 9b.

Figure 9b.

Aedeagus dorsal. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 9c.

Figure 9c.

Aedeagus ventral. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 9d.

Figure 9d.

Aedeagus lateral. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

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Biology

Adults of Pt.malaccae were found in mangrove patches and synchronous flashing was observed on different display plants, like Avicenniaalba Blume and Avicenniaofficinalis L. The fireflies form small aggregations of 6 to 10 individuals and the males were found flashing during flight. The specimens were observed flying at an average height of 7 to 8 metres and some of them were collected when they came down by sweep net. The collected specimens were identified in the laboratory.

Sclerotia aquatilis

(Thancharoen, 2007)

7CF71C64-1185-5EBE-B5DC-1896CDF7300E

Materials

  1. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 3 males; occurrenceID: E4AA985E-C1E3-5AA1-AE21-F90D309A65D0; Taxon: scientificName: Sclerotiaaquatilis (Thancharoen, 2007); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: West Benga; locality: Kulpi, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 22°4'48'' N, 88°17'60'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Net sweeping; eventDate: 10-September-17; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0025, VUEC-0026, VUEC-0027; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  2. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: CDFE2902-8558-5D26-82DF-A912DDAAB01A; Taxon: scientificName: Sclerotiaaquatilis (Thancharoen, 2007); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: Odisha; locality: near Chandipore coast, Balasore; verbatimCoordinates: 21°29'36'' N, 86°55'19''E; Event: samplingProtocol: Net sweeping; eventDate: 8-May-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0025, VUEC-0026, VUEC-0027; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  3. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 2 males; occurrenceID: 2AD51D56-287E-5592-B332-59E3E88F9371; Taxon: scientificName: Sclerotiaaquatilis (Thancharoen, 2007); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Egra, East Midnapore; verbatimCoordinates: 21°53' 56'' N, 87°31'48'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 11-August-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0063, VUEC-0064; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  4. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 4 males, 3 females; occurrenceID: 8563A1F5-DE6F-5516-8B68-467F2BE5DB2D; Taxon: scientificName: Sclerotiaaquatilis (Thancharoen, 2007); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: near Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary, Sundarban Biosphere Reserve, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 22°7'12''N, 88°46'49'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Net sweeping; eventDate: 14-July-19; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0096, VUEC-0097, VUEC-0098, VUEC-0099, VUEC-0100, VUEC-0101, VUEC-0102; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

Diagnosis

Length 9–11 mm; Width 3.5–4 mm; PN, MN and MS pale brownish-yellow, elytra dark brown with the sutural and lateral margins bright yellow, ventrites pale brown, legs pale brown with the apical parts of tibae and entire tarsi dark brown (Fig. 10). Scl.aquatilis can be distinguished from Scl.substriata (the other known species of the genus from India) by the following set of male characters: V4 and V5 having dark brown patches along the posterior margin with the dark patch of V5 occupying approximately 2/3 of the part posteriorly (in case of Scl.substriata, whole part of V4 and V5 dark brown in colour); LO occupies the entire V6 and V7, except for a small median emargination at the anterior part of V7 (in case of Scl.substriata, the anterior median emargination of the LO in V7 is of comparatively greater depth). Male genitalia (Fig. 11): Aedeagus L/W 2.1, aedeagal sheath sternite having an oblique bar and a small median posterior emargination, anteromedian margin of sheath tergite emarginated (in case of Scl.substriata, the transverse oblique ridge in posterior half of sheath sternite is not present, elongate pointed projection of the right side of the posterior margin of the sheath sternite is not found and there is rounded prolongation of the median anterior margin of the aedeagal sheath tergite); Sclerites (Fig. 11a, b) - distal end of triangular-shaped ventral sclerite is rounded in shape, its margin is not sclerotised, anterolateral corners acute; right sclerite possesses three projections to the right, of those, the posterior one apically acute, median one is dorsolaterally inclined with the apical end slender and rounded, the third one is the longest, arises in an emargination between the other two, ventrolaterally inclined with rounded hollow apex; left sclerite also possesses three arms, all of which are apically rounded with the anterior one expanded.

Sclerotiaaquatilis (Thancharoen, 2007).

Figure 10a.

Figure 10a.

Male dorsal habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm;

Figure 10b.

Figure 10b.

Male ventral habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm;

Figure 10c.

Figure 10c.

Female dorsal habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm;

Figure 10d.

Figure 10d.

Female ventral habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm.

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Male genitalia of Sclerotiaaquatilis (Thancharoen, 2007).

Figure 11a.

Figure 11a.

Aedeagal sheath dorsal, tergite 8 dorsal and two of the three sclerites that surround the sheath in a band of muscle. Scale bar 0.5 mm;

Figure 11b.

Figure 11b.

Aedeagal sheath ventral, tergite 8 ventral and two of the three sclerites that surround the sheath in a band of muscle. Scale bar 0.5 mm;

Figure 11c.

Figure 11c.

Aedeagal sheath ventral and two of the sclerites. Scale bar 0.5 mm;

Figure 11d.

Figure 11d.

Aedeagus dorsal. Scale bar 0.5 mm;

Figure 11e.

Figure 11e.

Aedeagus ventral. Scale bar 0.5 mm.

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Biology

Males of Scl.aquatilis were found perching on macrophyte surfaces at the onset of darkness. Their average flight height ranged between 2 to 5 metres. Females are macropterous. Metapneustic larvae are exclusively aquatic in nature and the later instars lack gills, while in initial instars, lateral bristles function as gills (Fu and Ballantyne 2009). The 1st – 2nd instar larvae obtain dissolved oxygen through tracheal gills, whereas the 3rd – 6th instar back-swimmer larvae, without tracheal gills, swim just below the water surface and expose their abdominal segments to air to breath by their terminal spiracles (Fu et al. 2005, Zheng et al. 2008). Adult individuals were observed near aquatic sites.

Sclerotia substriata

(Gorham, 1880)

0B272C84-8696-5DC5-84A8-41A03832667F

Materials

  1. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Santu Paria; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: E12FC091-3CE3-5559-AC50-16E014DDE237; Taxon: scientificName: Sclerotiasubstriata (Gorham, 1880); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: East Midnapore; locality: Egra; verbatimCoordinates: 21°53'60''N, 87°31'48'' E; Event: samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 11-August-18; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0065; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

  2. Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 3 males; occurrenceID: FA0BE07B-3E4F-5C41-A991-283E8E5A2060; Taxon: scientificName: Sclerotiasubstriata (Gorham, 1880); family: Lampyridae; Location: country: India; countryCode: Ind; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Aamtala, South 24 Parganas; verbatimCoordinates: 22°21'59'' N, 88°16'37''; Event: samplingProtocol: Net sweeping; eventDate: 14-September-19; Record Level: collectionCode: VUEC-0103, VUEC-0104, VUEC-0105; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

Diagnosis

Length 8.4 mm; Width 3.8 mm; PN, MN and MS yellowish-orange, elytra light greyish-brown with its apices black tipped and lateral and sutural margins bright yellow, legs yellow with the apical parts of tibae and entire tarsi brownish-black (Fig. 12). Scl.substriata can be distinguished from Scl.aquatilis (the other known species of the genus from India) by the following set of male characters: V3, V4, V5 brownish-black (in case of Scl.aquatilis, V4 and V5 having dark brown patches along the posterior margin with the dark patch of V5 occupying approximately 2/3 of the part posteriorly), LO occupies the entire V6 and V7, with the V7 having a moderately deep (approximately 1/3 of V7 length) median emargination at its anterior margin (in case of Scl.aquatilis, a small median emargination at the anterior part of V7). Male genitalia (Fig. 13): Aedeagus L/W 2.1, aedeagal sheath sternite bears no oblique median ridge at posterior part and anteromedian margin of sheath tergite with rounded prolongation (in case of Scl.aquatilis, aedeagal sheath sternite having an oblique bar and a small median posterior emargination, anteromedian margin of sheath tergite emarginated); Sclerites (Fig. 13a, b) - ventral sclerite almost circular with asymmetrically thickened ventral surface, a curved band lying in the middle; right sclerite bears anterior ventral projection which is hollow and apically rounded; at its side, there lies a curved anteriorly pointed projection, minute lateral projections become fused and lie behind and beneath both of ventral and right sclerites as a broad piece with irregular lateral margins; left sclerite has three lateral slender and pointed projections, the inner arm of median and posterior projections are curved and apically pointed.

Sclerotiasubstriata (Gorham, 1880).

Figure 12a.

Figure 12a.

Male dorsal habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm;

Figure 12b.

Figure 12b.

Male ventral habitus. Scale bar: 1 mm.

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Male genitalia of Sclerotiasubstriata (Gorham, 1880).

Figure 13a.

Figure 13a.

Aedeagal sheath dorsal (partly broken near the junction of sheath tergite and sternite), tergite 8 dorsal and two of the three sclerites. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 13b.

Figure 13b.

Aedeagal sheath ventral (partly broken near the junction of sheath tergite and sternite), tergite 8 ventral and two of the sclerites. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 13c.

Figure 13c.

Aedeagal sheath dorsal. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 13d.

Figure 13d.

Aedeagal sheath ventral. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 13e.

Figure 13e.

Aedeagus dorsal. Scale bar: 0.5 mm;

Figure 13f.

Figure 13f.

Aedeagus ventral. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

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Biology

Males of Scl.substriata were found in flight up to canopy heights of 6 to 7 metres and over macrophyte surfaces during nocturnal hours. On shining of a bright light, the individuals stop flying and drop. Females are macropterous. Metapneustic larvae are exclusively aquatic in nature and the later instars lack tracheal gills, while in initial instars, lateral bristles function as gills (Fu and Ballantyne 2009). The 1st – 2nd instar larvae obtain dissolved oxygen through tracheal gills, whereas the 3rd – 6th instar back-swimmer larvae, without tracheal gills, swim just below the water surface and expose their abdominal segments to air to breath by their terminal spiracles (Fu et al. 2005, Zheng et al. 2008). Adult individuals were found near aquatic sites.

Discussion

The present faunistic report, based on the occurrence and distribution of fireflies in the two eastern States of India, reflects that a number of firefly species, having wider distribution throughout SE Asia, also inhabit diverse habitat types (grassland, forest, marshy area, roadside vegetation patches etc., as mentioned in the description of the study sites), which include Abs.chinensis, Abs.terminalis, Pt.malaccae and Asy.ovalis. These species were reported earlier from a number of countries in this geographical subregion of South Eastern and Southern Asia. On the contrary, species like Abs.perplexa (Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka), Asy.humeralis (India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka), Scl.aquatilis (India, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam) and Scl.substriata (India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka) (Gorham 1880, Ballantyne et al. 2013, Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019, Seri and Rahman 2021) have demonstrated scattered distribution which is revealed by their presence in fewer countries of this global subregion.

McDermott (1966) listed 279 species under the subgenus Luciola and he had (McDermott 1964) previously indicated the necessity to subdivide some of them. Based on McDermott’s arrangement, species identification and taxonomy of Luciola was imprecise and leading to many erroneous grouping and taxonomic instability (Ballantyne et al. 2019, Jusoh et al. 2021). To provide an appropriate taxonomic framework for the Luciola fauna of the SE Asia and the Australopacific Region and also to define what Luciola s. str. could contain, Ballantyne et al. (2019) and Jusoh et al. (2021) addressed and defined Luciola s. str. including 17 species previously listed under the subgenus Luciola in McDermott (1966). This definition allowed the erection of many new genera involving transfers of species from Luciola (Luciola) sensu McDermott (1966). In their work, Ballantyne et al. (2019) recommended for transfer of seven species (including L.costata Pic) to the genus Curtos, assigned 33 species (including two synonyms) to Luciola s. lato and treated 35 species as species incertae sedis.

Most recently, the status of the genus Luciola s. str. has been updated with erection of a new genus Nipponoluciola Ballantyne, Kawashima, Jusoh & Suzuki (Ballantyne et al. 2022). The new genus has been erected for two species of Japanese fireflies Nipponoluciolacruciata (Motschulsky) and Nipponoluciolaowadai (Satô & Kimura) possessing aquatic larvae. They have also suggested for placements of many of remaining species listed under Luciola in Ballantyne et al. (2019) and mentioned the problems in proper taxonomic arrangement of a few of these species, like misidentification of specimens, loss of holotypes, mislabelling, inadequacy of original descriptions, degradation of specimens in museums as an effect of longer course of preservation, larger cost of obtaining support from European museums, where most of the types are located and the difficulties imposed during Covid situation at global level from 2020 (Ballantyne et al. 2022).

The Indian checklist (Table 1) presented in this work, reflecting only about 8% (33 out of 400) of the World Luciolinae firefly fauna, clearly shows the need for more taxonomic studies on this group to be carried out in the country. The listed species of the country exhibit about 33% endemism (11 out of 33 species endemic to India). The highest number of species was recorded from the State of West Bengal (11), followed by Tamilnadu (seven), Odisha (five), Karnataka and Maharashtra (four each), Assam (three) and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa and Kerala (two each). Unfortunately, only a single species has been reported from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Pondicherry and Sikkim. Out of the total species recorded in India, Abs.chinensis (from five States), Abs.perplexa (from four States), Asy.humeralis and Asy.ovalis (each from three States), Scl.aquatilis and Scl.substriata (each from three States), Abs.terminalis and Pt.malaccae (each from two States) could be considered as the prevalent firefly species of India. On the contrary, Py.insularis has been reported exclusively from Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Asy.circumdata from the Meghalaya State indicating a localised distribution. The distribution pattern of Indian species indicates that Abs.chinensis, Abs.perplexa, Abs.terminalis, Asy.humeralis, Asy.ovalis and Scl.aquatilis are the better studied and widely distributed species in India. However, for the rest of the species, either they are reported from only one/two States or their precise distribution in India is not known.

Table 1.

Checklist of Indian Lucioline firefly species (for synonymy, see Ballantyne et al. (2019)) .

[## Listed as Species Incertae Sedis in Ballantyne et al. (2019), ** Defined as Luciola s. lato in Ballantyne et al. (2019), # Recommended for transfer to Curtos in Ballantyne et al. (2019), * Defined as Luciola s. str. Laporte in Ballantyne et al. (2019) , £ Recommended for transfer to Curtos in Ballantyne and Jusoh (2016), India (?) - indicates precise location in India not mentioned.

Sl. No. Genus and species Records from India Records from elsewhere
1 Absconditachinensis (L., 1767) Assam; Bihar; Maharashtra (Chen 2003, Ballantyne et al. 2013, Ballantyne et al. 2019, Fu 2014).
Tamilnadu - Madras; Maharashtra - Bombay; Bengal (Gorham 1880); Karnataka - Belgaum, Kanara, Madura (Gorham 1895); Odisha - herein.		 China - mainland; Thailand
(Chen 2003, Fu 2014, Ballantyne et al. 2019). Cambodia; Myanmar - Rangoon, Tharawaddy (Gorham 1895). Sri Lanka; Thailand; Vietnam (McDermott 1966, Ballantyne et al. 2016, Wattanachaiyingcharoen et al. 2016, Wijekoon et al. 2016, Seri and Rahman 2021).
2 Absconditaperplexa (Walker, 1858) Assam; Madhya Pradesh (Ballantyne et al. 2013). Assam - Guwahati (Ballantyne et al. 2019); Odisha - herein, West Bengal - herein. Sri Lanka; Thailand
(Ballantyne et al. 2019). Cambodia (Ballantyne et al. 2016, Seri and Rahman 2021). Sri Lanka (Wijekoon et al. 2021).
3 Absconditaterminalis (Olivier, 1883) West Bengal; Odisha (Ghosh et al. 2021). Cambodia; China - mainland; Laos; Thailand; Vietnam (Chen 2003, Yiu 2012, Ballantyne et al. 2013, Ballantyne et al. 2019, Fu 2014). Thailand; Vietnam (Olivier 1905, McDermott 1966).
4 Asymmetricatacircumdata (Motschulsky, 1854) Indes orientales (Motschulsky 1854). India (?) (McDermott 1966). Meghalaya - Garo hills (Rabha and Gohain Barua 2016). Cambodia; Laos; Myanmar; Singapore; Thailand (Lloyd et al. 1989,Nak-eiam et al. 2011). Vietnam (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2009, Fu et al. 2012b, Ballantyne et al. 2019). Thailand - Bangkok (Theraphat 1969).
5 Asymmetricatahumeralis (Walker, 1858) Goa - Mormugao; Maharashtra - Malabar Hills; Karnataka; Tamilnadu; Kerala - Nilgiri hills (Ballantyne et al. 2019). Indonesia - Java, Sumatra; Sri Lanka (Ballantyne et al. 2019). Sri Lanka (Olivier 1905, McDermott 1966, Wijekoon et al. 2016, Wijekoon et al. 2021).
6 Asymmetricataovalis (Hope, 1831) Goa; West Bengal - Kalimpong (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2009, Ballantyne et al. 2019). Assam (Gorham 1880). North West India; Karnataka - Belgaum, Kanara (Gorham 1895). Odisha - herein. Myanmar; Nepal; Sri Lanka; Thailand (Ballantyne et al. 2019). Indonesia - Sumatra; Myanmar - Burma, Rangoon, Tharawaddy; Nepal; Vietnam - Tonkin (Gorham 1895, McDermott 1966). Thailand (Wattanachaiyingcharoen et al. 2016, Pronak et al. 2018, Seri and Rahman 2021).
7 Curtosacerra (Gorham, 1895) India (Ballantyne et al. 2019). Karnataka - Belgaum, Kanara (Gorham 1895). India (?) (McDermott 1966, Jeng et al. 1998, Fu et al. 2012a).
8 Curtosvariolosus (Bourgeois, 1907) India (?) (Ballantyne et al. 2019, McDermott 1966, Jeng et al. 1998, Fu et al. 2012a).
9 Inflataindica (Motschulsky, 1854) Andaman Island; Maharashtra - Mumbai (Gorham 1880, McDermott 1966). Indes Orientales (Olivier 1905). Maharashtra - Mumbai (Raj 1947).
10 Luciolaaurantiaca Pic, 1927 ## Southern India (McDermott 1966). India (?) (Ballantyne et al. 2019).
11 Luciolaauritula Olivier, 1910 ** India (?) (Ballantyne et al. 2019). Sri Lanka (McDermott 1966).
12 Luciolacomplanata Gorham, 1895 # Karnataka - Kanara (Gorham 1895). India (?) (Ballantyne et al. 2019). Madagascar (McDermott 1966).
13 Luciolagigas Olivier, 1888 ** West Bengal - Kolkata (Ballantyne et al. 2019). India (?) (Olivier 1905, McDermott 1966). Madagascar (McDermott 1966).
14 Luciolahorni Bourgeois, 1905 * Tamil Nadu - Tanjore (McDermott 1966, Ballantyne et al. 2019) Sri Lanka (Olivier 1905, McDermott 1966, Ballantyne et al. 2019, Wijekoon et al. 2012, Wijekoon et al. 2021).
15 Luciolamaindroni Pic, 1927 Maharashtra - Malabar (McDermott 1966).
16 Luciolamulticostulata Pic, 1927 # India - southern part (McDermott 1966). India (?) (Ballantyne et al. 2019).
17 Luciolanigripes Gorham, 1903 # Tamilnadu (Gorham 1903, Olivier 1905, McDermott 1966). India (?) (Ballantyne et al. 2019).
18 Luciolanotaticollis
Pic 1914 £ 		Tamil Nadu - Madura (Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019). Indonesia (Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019). East Indies - Indonesian Archipelago, Malaysian Borneo, the Philippine Archipelago and New Guinea (McDermott 1966).
19 Luciolaobscura Pic, 1928 ** India (?) (Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019). Indonesia - Celebes (McDermott 1966, Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019).
20 Luciolapallidipes Pic, 1928 * Sikkim; West Bengal - Kurseong (Ballantyne et al. 2019). Brunei; Indonesia; Malayasia (Ballantyne et al. 2019). Malayasia - Malacca (McDermott 1966).
21 Luciolasudra Gorham 1903 India (?) (McDermott 1966)
22 Luciolatenuicornis Olivier, 1885 ** India (?) (Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019) Indonesia - Celebes, Kandari (Olivier 1885). New Guinea; Indonesia - Celebes (McDermott 1966). Indonesia (Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019).
23 Luciolatincticollis Gorham, 1895 ## Karnataka - Belgaum (Gorham 1895). Inde (?) (Olivier 1905). India (?) (McDermott 1966, Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019).
24 Luciolatrivandrensis Raj, 1947 ## India (?) (Raj 1947, McDermott 1966, Ballantyne et al. 2019).
25 Luciolaxanthura Gorham, 1880 ** Karnataka - Nilgiri hills; Kerala; Tamil Nadu (Gorham 1880, Olivier 1905, McDermott 1966). India (?) (Ballantyne et al. 2019).
26 Pteroptyxmalaccae (Gorham, 1880) Tamilnadu - Chennai (McDermott 1966, Ballantyne and McLean 1970, Ballantyne et al. 2011). West Bengal - herein. Malaysia - Malacca; Indonesia - Sumatra (McDermott 1966, Olivier 1905). Borneo; Cambodia; Indonesia; Malaysia; Thailand (Ballantyne et al. 2019).
27 Pygoluciolacalceata (Olivier, 1905) Pondicherry (Olivier 1905). India (?) (McDermott 1966). Pondicherry; Tamilnadu (Ballantyne et al. 2019). Sri Lanka (Ballantyne et al. 2019).
28 Pygoluciolainsularis (Olivier, 1883) Andaman Islands (Olivier 1905, McDermott 1966). Andaman Islands; Nicobars (Ballantyne et al. 2019). Indonesia - Java, Sumatra (Ballantyne et al. 2019).
29 Pygoluciolanitescens (Olivier, 1903) West Bengal - Darjeeling (Olivier 1905, McDermott 1966, Ballantyne et al. 2019). Malaysian Borneo (Ballantyne et al. 2019). Borneo (Olivier 1905, McDermott 1966).
30 Pygoluciolavitalisi (Pic, 1934) West Bengal - Kalimpong (Ballantyne et al. 2019). Cambodia (McDermott 1966).
31 Pyrophanessemilimbata (Olivier 1883) Indes Orientales (Olivier 1883, Gorham 1903, Olivier 1905). Eastern India (McDermott 1966). India (?) (Thancharoen et al. 2007). Indonesia; Philippines; Malayasia (Ballantyne et al. 2015). Only the name mentioned (Ballantyne et al. 2019).
32 Sclerotiaaquatilis (Thancharoen, 2007) India (?) (Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019). West Bengal (Ghosh et al. 2021). Odisha - herein. Reports of some uncertain cases from Africa (Jeng et al. 2003, Thancharoen et al. 2007). Vietnam - Cochin China; Thailand (Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019).
33 Sclerotiasubstriata (Gorham, 1880) Assam; Karnataka - Belgaum; Maharashtra - Mumbai (Gorham 1880, Gorham 1895). Assam - Guwahati; Maharashtra - Mumbai (Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019). West Bengal - herein. Myanmar - Burma, Rangoon (Gorham 1880, Gorham 1895). Myanmar - Tharawaddy, Rangoon; Sri Lanka (Ballantyne et al. 2016, Ballantyne et al. 2019).
Open in a new tab

Abs.anceyi, Abs.pallescens and Triangularafrontoflava, which were previously reported from India in Ghosh et al. (2021), are not included in this article because the identity of Abs.anceyi could not be confirmed due to lack of male specimens, Abs.pallescens is incorrectly reported from India and Tr.frontoflava has been misidentified in Ghosh et al. (2021). The checklist and distributional record of species presented herein has been prepared only on the basis of published articles and some records which were presented earlier in Ghosh et al. (2021) are not included here as those were incorrectly reported or mistakenly incorporated from unpublished documents.

In the present study, the recorded firefly species show diversified habitat preferences. Of all the study sites, mangroves of Sundarban Biosphere Reserve support the highest diversity of Luciolinae species, providing necessary environmental resources like wetland association, vegetation compositions and shelter for larvae and adults. During our field study, we found that dependence on display plants and association with wetlands are prominent factors influencing abundance and distribution of firefly species.

Supplementary Material

XML Treatment for Abscondita chinensis
XML Treatment for Abscondita perplexa
XML Treatment for Asymmetricata ovalis
XML Treatment for Pteroptyx malaccae
XML Treatment for Sclerotia aquatilis
XML Treatment for Sclerotia substriata

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the authorities of the Vidyasagar University and University of Kalyani for providing necessary laboratory facilities for this research work. SG extends her sincere thanks to the Principal of Bethune College, Kolkata. SKS is thankful to the honourable Vice Chancellor of the University of Kalyani for providing the Personal Research Grant (PRG) 2021-22, 2022-23 and DST PURSE I & II grant. All authors express their heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Lesley A. Ballantyne, the Luciolinae taxonomist and researcher from Australia, for helping in identification of the species and also for her works on firefly taxonomy, without which it would not have been possible to take up the present work. Authors are also thankful to all other researchers for literature support.

Author contributions

Conceptualisation, SG, SKS and SKC; methodology, SG and SKS; field sampling, SG; primary taxonomic identification, SG; morphological description, SG and SKS; capturing photographs, SG; map preparation, SKS; verification of taxonomic identification, SG and SKS; resources, SG, SKS and SKC; data analysis, SG, SKS, SKC; writing and original draft preparation, SG and SKS; review and editing, SKS and SKC; editing of photographs and visualisation, SKS; final review, SKS and SKC. All authors checked and approved the last version of the manuscript.

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Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Supplementary Materials

XML Treatment for Abscondita chinensis
BDJ.11.e98948-treatment1.xml (59.4KB, xml)
XML Treatment for Abscondita perplexa
BDJ.11.e98948-treatment2.xml (45.5KB, xml)
XML Treatment for Asymmetricata ovalis
BDJ.11.e98948-treatment3.xml (15.9KB, xml)
XML Treatment for Pteroptyx malaccae
BDJ.11.e98948-treatment4.xml (18.8KB, xml)
XML Treatment for Sclerotia aquatilis
BDJ.11.e98948-treatment5.xml (29.6KB, xml)
XML Treatment for Sclerotia substriata
BDJ.11.e98948-treatment6.xml (23.3KB, xml)

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