Flash behavior of female Photuris versicolor fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) in simulated courtship and predatory dialogues

Female Photuris versicolor fireflies attempt to capture males by responding to heterospecific flash patterns. A mating-dependent switch occurs which affects response timing and frequency of female flashes. We examined the switch using females of known age, mating status, and flash experience to assess how accurate mimicry is, what factors influence it, and what mechanism produces it. Presentations of simulated male flash patterns before and after mating revealed elements of an entrainment mechanism controlling female responsiveness. Unmated females preferentially answered conspecific patterns with variable latencies, averaging 1 s. Mating induced changes in both response frequency and response latency: Females answered heterospecific patterns more frequently, and latencies elicited by conspecific patterns shifted away from the unmated range. Heterogeneity in mean and variance of response latency among individuals indicates that females do not share a discrete reply to a given pattern. Little correspondence exists between latencies of sympatric species and P. versicolor females, suggesting that the flash response mechanism produces entrainment to any rhythmic pattern, not a one-to-one matching between prey and predator latencies. Different selective scenarios underlie strict mimicry versus entrainment mimicry.