Observation: Unknown
Primary Observer:
Donna
Event Date:
2025-07-04
Status:
Unverified
Survey
Site Name:
Undisclosed
Province/State:
Connecticut
Event Date:
2025-07-04
Time of Day:
Night-Time
Start Time:
20:45
End Time:
21:30
Number of Observers:
1
Primary Observer:
Donna
Additional Observers:
NA
target_species_genus:
unknown
target_species_species:
unknown
Location and Habitat
Location Accuracy (meters):
0-25
Habitat Type:
Woodland/Forest - Trees dominant, and in the over-story
Habitat Type Notes:
Oak and maple
Elevation (meters):
514
Area Searched (hectares):
0.04
Artificial Light Sources
Vehicles: No
Street Lights: Yes
Buildings: Yes
Flood light partly intruded area
Street Lights: Yes
Buildings: Yes
Flood light partly intruded area
Artificial Light Types
Sky Glow (diffuse illumination in the sky): Yes
Light Trespass (light cast on surfaces beyond its intended target): Yes
Glare (bright light causing visual discomfort): No
Light Trespass (light cast on surfaces beyond its intended target): Yes
Glare (bright light causing visual discomfort): No
Artificial Light Notes:
But dark around corner of building
Observation
Observation Type:
With Flash Data
Number Observed:
11-50
genus:
unknown
Species:
unknown
Observation Notes:
Some long steady greenish flash in openings, 1 with 3 quick flashes, some quick flash, 1 j shaped flash. Some orange flash on ground or shrubs.
Specimen Voucher Number:
Flash Behavior
First Flash Time:
20:30
Last Flash Time:
21:15
First Flash Temp (F):
70
Last Flash Temp (F):
67
Flashes in Pattern:
>4
Flash Color:
Green
Flash Pattern Period:
160
Flash Duration:
3
Flash Interval:
10
Male Height Zone:
Low (0-3 ft), Moderate (3-8 ft), High (over 8 ft)
Flash Location:
Mid air and dropping to ground, in trees
Male Flash Behavior:
Flashing high and long or short and near ground, or moving closer to trees up high.
Female Flash Behavior:
Flash on ground orange and stopping after two males came close.
1 thought on “Observation: Unknown”
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Thank you for submitting this firefly observation! Seems like you saw quite the diversity of flash patterns!
The long greenish flashes in openings was likely a Photuris firefly, the quick triple-flash could have been Photinus obscurellus or a Photuris, and the j-shaped flash might have been Photinus pyralis (which meets the edge of its range in Connecticut).
A note about flash pattern terminology, for next firefly season:
“Flash pattern period” refers to the number of seconds between the start of a flash pattern and the start of the next repetition of that flash pattern. For example, the big dipper firefly (Photinus pyralis) typically has a flash pattern period of 5-7 seconds.
“Flash duration” is how long each flash lasts. Usually this is too fast to measure accurately, but you can estimate whether it is more or less than 0.5 seconds, you can enter “not recorded,” or you can do a verbal description (such as “very brief”).
“Flash interval” refers to the time between the end of one flash and the beginning of the next. In species with single flash patterns and short flash durations, this is basically the same as “flash pattern period,” just a little shorter.