Larval and female Phengodidae are predators, feeding on millipedes and other arthropods occurring in soil and litter. The winged males, which are often attracted to lights at night, are short-lived and probably do not feed.
Females are much larger than the males and are completely larviform.
Males may be luminescent, but females and larvae have a series of luminescent organs on trunk segments, which emit yellow or green light, and sometimes an additional head organ, which emits red light. References Barber, H. S. 1905. Barber, H. S. 1907. The glow-worm Astraptor . Costa, C., S. A. Vanin, S. A. Casari and V. R. Viviani 1999.