Biochemical systematics of Japanese fireflies of the subfamily Luciolinae and their flash communication systems.

Japanese fireflies of the subfamily Luciolinae are biochemically analyzed using 13 allozymes, and the phylogenetic relationships obtained from this analysis are compared with their flash communication systems. As a result, the Japanese Luciolinae can be divided into three groups. Hotaria parvula and H. tsushimana together with Luciola yayeyamana and L. kuroiwae form the first group, and they use the same communication system. L. lateralis, Curtos okinawana, and C. costipennis make up the second group, and their communication systems are also the same. L. cruciata makes up the last one, and its communication system is different from the other fireflies of Luciolinae. Therefore, their taxonomical arrangement and communication systems are not congruent. However, the genetic similarity deduced by allozymic analysis of the members of the Japanese Luciolinae is highly consistent with their flash communication systems.