TiLIA: a software package for image analysis of firefly flash patterns.

As flash signaling patterns of fireflies are species specific, signal-pattern analysis is important for understanding this system of communication. Here, we present time-lapse image analysis (TiLIA), a free open-source software package for signal and flight pattern analyses of fireflies that uses video-recorded image data. TiLIA enables flight path tracing of individual fireflies and provides frame-by-frame coordinates and light intensity data.

Expression of the nos gene and firefly flashing: a test of the nitric-oxide-mediated flash control model.

Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) emit various types of light that differ among species and populations of the same species. Their lights are assumed to be biological properties that play important ecological and evolutionary roles. Some species in the Lampyridae emit periodic luminescence, the patterns of which are characterized by species-specific intervals.

Cloning and characterization of luciferase from a Fijian luminous click beetle.

Luminous click beetle is distributed almost exclusively in Central and South America with a single genus in Melanesia. Among these click beetles, the description of Melanesian species has been fragmentary, and its luciferase gene and phylogenetic relation to other click beetles still remain uncertain. We collected a living luminous click beetle, Photophorus jansonii in Fiji.

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the Japanese fireflies Luciola lateralis and Luciola cruciata.

Species-specific flash patterns in firefly species are important for the investigation of the evolution of Lampyridae. Since nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is one of the key enzymes controlling flash patterns, we determined the cDNA sequences of NOS in the Japanese fireflies Luciola lateralis and L. cruciata.

Mitochondrial genomes of two luminous beetles, Rhagophthalmus lufengensis and R. ohbai (Arthropoda, Insecta, Coleoptera).

We determined the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences of two luminous beetles (Arthropoda, Insecta, Coleoptera), Rhagophthalmus lufengensis from Yunnan, China and Rhagophthalmus ohbai from Yaeyama Island, Japan. We identified all the 37 mtDNA genes of R. lufengensis (15,982 bp) and the 34 genes of R.

Phylogeographic analysis of the firefly, Luciola lateralis, in Japan and Korea based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II gene sequences (Coleoptera: Lampyridae).

Luciola lateralis is widely distributed throughout the Korean Peninsula, northeast China, Sakhalin, and Japan. Two ecological types are recognized in Japan based on flash and hatching time characteristics. The mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II gene was surveyed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis for Japan (46 populations) and Korea (two populations).

Flash communication systems of Japanese fireflies.

Japanese fireflies range from nocturnal luminescent species to diurnal non-luminescent species. Their communication systems are classified into 6 types based on the following criteria: 1) Female responds to male's flashes after a fixed delay; 2) Male is directly attracted by female's light signal, the male perches on a leaf near the female, then the male changes his flashes with twinkling, and copulation behavior is released. However, the female may not respond to the male; 3) Male seeks female calling signal during the male's flying and synchronous flashing, then the male approaches the female, emitting flashes with various patterns, displaying walking-luminescing, sedentary signaling, chasing, and copulating; 4) Male is attracted by continuous luminescent signals of the female, and male perches near the female, then the male distinguishes the female's light organs shape.

Embryogenesis of the glowworm Rhagophthalmus ohbai Wittmer (Insecta: Coleoptera, Rhagophthalmidae), with emphasis on the germ rudiment formation.

The early embryonic development and features of the developing embryo of the glowworm Rhagophthalmus ohbai are described chiefly by light microscopy, with emphasis on the germ rudiment formation and its phylogenetic implication. The egg period is 30-34 days at about 23 degrees C. The newly laid egg is a short ellipsoid, 1.

Gene diversity and geographic differentiation in mitochondrial DNA of the Genji firefly, Luciola cruciata (Coleoptera: Lampyridae).

The Genji firefly, Luciola cruciata, is divided into two ecological types, the fast-flash and slow-flash types, on the basis of the interflash interval of mate-seeking males. To evaluate the evolutionary origin of the two types, 62 populations were examined by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase (CO) II gene. As a result, 19 haplotypes were detected, and their distributions were indigenous to local areas.