Favoritos de cotinis

I spotted bioluminescence on the hillside beside the trail on the Night Owl Hike; some photos with flashlight

The larvae look typical of beetle grubs, females look like the larvae (larviform, neotonous, or paedomorphic: retaining juvenile features into adulthood), both larvae and females having luminescent organs ("lanterns"); however, females communicate with males via pheromones (chemical perfumes), not light intensity, (explaining the male’s lovely, sensory antennae, for in his brief life he does not eat but lives only to mate), and then the female lays eggs in clusters on the ground, encircles and guards them, glowing the whole time, until her death about a week later; eggs may not glow immediately but may luminesce before hatching

For the adult male beetle here at the Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Center, cf. inaturalist.org/observations/157456482

Was feeding on dead deer on side of road. Pictures not great but I’d was unmistakable. Black body, white neck, black cap, red in front of face, large white band on upper end of tail and smaller white patches toward the tips of wings when it flew. I have a short video clip that is better for ID.

Several Microdon sp. pupae in the first 2-3 inches of soil on top of mound nests of Formica sp.

See below for images of the larvae:

https://inaturalist.ca/observations/109172194

Adults reared to confirm ID

Pupae were kept in a container buried under 1 inch of moist (not soaking wet) soil at around 20-25 degrees Celsius. Adults emerged after 14 days under these conditions.

Note the leaves evenly spaced along twigs and with gradual symmetrical tapering to tip and base. Also the small denticulations extend to the base of the leave. This plant stands in the middle of a slough, albeit without water during a dry spell.