Observation: Photuris douglasae
Primary Observer:
Ellie Shultz
Event Date:
2026-08-22
Status:
Unreviewed
Survey
Site Name:
Undisclosed
Province/State:
Florida
Event Date:
2026-08-22
Time of Day:
Night-Time
Start Time:
19:50
End Time:
21:33
Number of Observers:
6
Primary Observer:
Ellie Shultz
Additional Observers:
Kristen Mattson, Em Gerety, Nicole O'Brien, Chelsea LeNoble, Kate Dolamore
target_species_genus:
unknown
target_species_species:
unknown
Location and Habitat
Location Accuracy (meters):
25-50
Habitat Type:
Open Freshwater Wetland - Wetland Bog, fen, freshwater marsh
Habitat Type Notes:
Observers stayed on elevated path that was bordered by the marsh. A lot of saltmarsh mallow, southern live oak trees on elevated area of path, swamp dock, leafy bladderwort, scarlet rose mallow has been observed here before, alligator flag
Elevation (meters):
6
Area Searched (hectares):
50
Artificial Light Sources
Vehicles: No
Street Lights: No
Buildings: No
Street Lights: No
Buildings: No
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:
Observation
Observation Type:
Without Flash Data
Number Observed:
50+
genus:
photuris
Species:
douglasae
Observation Notes:
This firefly was caught in flight, but I believe that it was a female due to the appearance of the lantern. We caught another one in flight that looks similar to this and had the same flash pattern, but is a slightly different size--see the separate observation.
I'm guessing that both of these are Photuris douglasae because they appear similar to other various Photuris we've caught here before.
Specimen Voucher Number:
Flash Behavior
First Flash Time:
Last Flash Time:
First Flash Temp (F):
Last Flash Temp (F):
Flashes in Pattern:
Flash Color:
Flash Pattern Period:
Flash Duration:
Flash Interval:
Male Height Zone:
Flash Location:
Fireflies were flying over the marsh and occasionally flew over us on the trail that intersects the marsh.
Interestingly, most of the flash patterns that we saw occurred in close physical and temporal proximity to a similar flash pattern that was yellow (possibly Photinus consimilis). In other words, the yellow Photinus would flash its rapid pattern and almost immediately be met by this one flying nearby, in the same pattern but with a green light.
This is what makes me think that these were femme fatales.
Male Flash Behavior:
Female Flash Behavior:
We couldn't get precise timing of this flash pattern, but below is a description of the patterns we noticed on this night, and this one matched #2:
1:
Yellow/orange - rapid succession of 8-ish? flashes, usually moving downward as they flash (we saw 11-50 of these) lights are fainter and look smaller than the green ones
The rapid flashes were so fast that they were impossible to count, but it seemed like 6-8. Each flicker lasted about 0.1 seconds or less. There were about 13/14 seconds between the flickers.
2:
Green - rapid succession of 7ish? flashes, usually very near to one of the yellow/orange ones that had just flashed the same flash pattern - is this a femme fatale mimicking that flash?!
3:
Green - 2 fast pulses at a time (flash-flash, pause)
0.1 seconds between the 2 fast pulses, and 2 seconds between each set
Fireflies were flying over the marsh and occasionally flew over us on the trail that intersects the marsh.
4:
Green/yellow - single flashes exactly 3 seconds apart
5:
Green/yellow - single flashes alternating between 3 and 4 seconds apart (flash-3 second pause-flash-4 second pause-flash-3 second pause-flash-4 second pause)
