Pyractomena dispersa Green 1957

Specimens present in the Strickland Museum were collected in mid June.

Pyractomena dispersa occurs in central Alberta. In North America, it has been collected in scattered states and provinces, ranging from the Northwest Territories to Alabama, and from Maine to Idaho and Utah (Green 1957).

Pyractomena dispersa (8-12.5mm long) at a glance closely resembles P. borealis, and like the larger species can be distinguished from all other Alberta lampyrids by the presence of light organs on the ventral abdomen of both the males and females. Female light organs are restricted to the edges of these abdominal segments. It can be distinguished from P. borealis by the secondary pubescence on the dorsal surface of the elytra. While longer primary pubescence sparsely covers the entire elytra of P. dispersa, the very small hairs comprising the secondary pubescence cover only the apical quarter of each elytron, making more of the elytra appear glabrous than in P. borealis. The pubescence may extend a little further along the elytral suture.

The larvae of P. dispersa may feed on snails, like those of P. borealis (Archangelsky 1999) and P. lucifera (Arnett 2001), an eastern Pyractomena species.

Pyractomena dispersa is a species of firefly in the beetle family Lampyridae. It is found in North America.

It has a patchy distribution, with a range is divided into an eastern and western portion, with the Great Plains dividing both. It is found in wetland habitats. It is threatened by habitat destruction for residential and agricultural development, with light pollution also playing a role; however, more research is needed into the threats and how they affect the species.