THE FIREFLY PSEUDOFLASH IN RELATION TO PHOTOGENIC CONTROL

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Abstract
As reported by Snell and Alexander, lampyrid fireflies exposed to oxygen concentrations of the order of 2% or lower develop a sustained "hypoxic glow," and when subsequently re-exposed to air emit a much brighter and shorter "pseudoflash." We find that these responses can be independent of the spiracles, and are given by decapitated fireflies, isolated abdomens and excised photogenic organs, showing their independence of central nervous system and tracheae. The hypoxic glowpseudoflash response is also given by the elaterid firefly Pyrophorus and by the larval and pupal photogenic organs of lampyrid fireflies. Since all these organs lack tracheal end cells, these cells cannot, as Snell and Alexander believed, control this type of light production. This, together with other evidence, makes it clear that luminescence is rarely oxygen-limited. Rather, all our observations are consistent with enzyme activation and inhibition in a system of photochemical reactions of the sort proposed by McElroy and Hastings (1955).

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