Study
Firefly “femmes fatales” acquire defensive steroids (lucibufagins) from their firefly prey
Eisner, Thomas; Goetz, Michael A.; Hill, David E.; Smedley, Scott R.; Meinwald, Jerrold
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1997
Analysed Photuris females chemically before and after they were fed Photinus fireflies, and tested the palatability of both to jumping spider predators.
- Studied in
- Photuris, Photinus
- Sample size
- females analysed chemically before and after feeding on Photinus
Photuris females lack the defensive steroids that Photinus fireflies carry, and acquire them by eating Photinus. Females that had fed on Photinus were rejected by spiders; those that had not were eaten.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Predation on other fireflies supplies these females with a chemical defence they cannot make themselves.
How NatureHQ reads it
The finding that makes this system worth a page rather than a paragraph. The mimicry is not only about a meal: the female is acquiring a defence, which links aggressive mimicry to chemical defence and to the sequestration pattern seen in poison frogs.
- One predator used to assess palatability, so the protective benefit is demonstrated against jumping spiders specifically.
- Laboratory feeding, which may not reflect how often wild females obtain Photinus.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesPublished in PNAS.
doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.18.9723
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.