Observation: Photuris frontalis
Primary Observer:
Joshua Wayne
Event Date:
2026-06-03
Status:
Verified
Survey
Site Name:
Just Love Forest
Province/State:
Georgia
Event Date:
2026-06-03
Time of Day:
Night-Time
Start Time:
20:30
End Time:
03:00
Number of Observers:
1
Primary Observer:
Joshua Wayne
Additional Observers:
NA
target_species_genus:
photuris
target_species_species:
frontalis
Location and Habitat
Location Accuracy (meters):
0-25
Habitat Type:
Woodland/Forest - Trees dominant, and in the over-story
Habitat Type Notes:
Dry calcareous soil east facing slope, they like the draws where water drains and dries up this time of year. They hover between 900-1000ft elevation they stay 4-5 feet off the ground and fly up to 10-20ft above ground. They definitely knew I was trying to get one for a photograph.
Elevation (meters):
295
Area Searched (hectares):
<1
Artificial Light Sources
Vehicles: No
Street Lights: No
Buildings: Yes
Only 2 lights low intensity but present
Street Lights: No
Buildings: Yes
Only 2 lights low intensity but present
Artificial Light Types
Sky Glow (diffuse illumination in the sky): No
Light Trespass (light cast on surfaces beyond its intended target): No
Glare (bright light causing visual discomfort): No
Light Trespass (light cast on surfaces beyond its intended target): No
Glare (bright light causing visual discomfort): No
Artificial Light Notes:
Very very dark with dense tree cover. Lots of chiggers and ticks here yay
Observation
Observation Type:
With Flash Data
Number Observed:
50+
genus:
photuris
Species:
frontalis
Observation Notes:
Flying quickly downhill often toward water drainage.
Specimen Voucher Number:
1
Flash Behavior
First Flash Time:
20:30
Last Flash Time:
03:40
First Flash Temp (F):
75
Last Flash Temp (F):
65
Flashes in Pattern:
1
Flash Color:
Yellow
Flash Pattern Period:
1
Flash Duration:
Flash Interval:
1
Male Height Zone:
Moderate (3-8 ft)
Flash Location:
All over the forest above the herbs inside the trees below the canopy. We have a steep hill they flash on too so when it’s pitch black it’s hard to tell if they’re higher in the trees or just higher elevation (more likely).
Male Flash Behavior:
Quick and short and fast very hard to catch for observation and they evaded capture multiple times.
Female Flash Behavior:
Didn’t even know they flashed hmm.
1 thought on “Observation: Photuris frontalis”
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Thanks for this observation of snappy single sync (Photuris frontalis)!
Because of some changes we’ve made to the digital data form, I had to slightly modify some of your answers while verifying this observation. Below are your original answers:
First Flash Temp (F): ~70-80
Last Flash Temp (F): ~60-70
Flash Pattern Period: <1 second
Flash Duration: <1
Flash Interval: 2 seconds (guess)
Note that a the flash pattern measurements for a typical P. frontalis flash pattern would look something like this (though at a warmer temperature than your observation):
Flash pattern period= 1 second
Flash duration= 0.1 seconds
Flash interval= 0.9 seconds
We've added a flash pattern diagram to the digital form, which hopefully will make things less confusing!