The flight path of P. pyralis is vertically looping, with a single long flash on the forward and upward portion of each loop, resulting in a “J” pattern.
Males fly straight, level, and slowly, 1-5 meters above the ground. They emit two slow flashes every 1-2 meters or every 2 seconds, flying upward on the second flash.
Males fly straight and slowly, bobbing up every 0.5 meters or so. They emit short (0.7 seconds) flashes at the start and end of each jump in their flight path.
The flight path for P. marginellus entails hopping up and down low in the brush, with a short, 0.5-second flash at the end of each “hop.” Flashes are about 3 seconds apart.
Photinus brimleyi fly rapidly in straight or loosely meandering paths at a constant height. While flying forward, they begin to flash, and then during light emission, they stop suddenly and hover for a moment before extinguishing their light and rushing forward again. This creates the appearance of a jagged flight path.
Males alternate between flying straight and flying in a lateral arch or in a sideways loop (as though dodging an obstacle). They flash during each lateral deviation from their straight path for about 0.4 seconds per flash.
This species flies about 1 meter off of the ground, flashing every other second while jerking back and forth to create zigzag patterns.
Males fly straight, level, and slowly, about 1-2 meters above the ground, emitting brief (0.2 seconds) flashes without changing speed. Flashes occur every 5.1 seconds.
These males flash late into the evening. They fly slowly, emitting 4-9 quick flashes every 10 seconds, sometimes stopping and hovering on the last flash. They may also produce 2-3 slow flashes, emitted during level flight every 2-6 seconds.
The flashes of this species are very similar to the flashes of P. consimilis, with a slightly longer interval between sets of flashes of about 13 seconds.
In Science Friday’s interview with Dr. Mark Branham, the University of Florida entomologist shared a fun little trick for mimicking females:
“If you watch long enough, you can see females in the grass respond to a flying male, and then you can see firsthand what the appropriate timing parameters are of that female flash pattern and how long after the male flash they are responding. If you just mimic that, you can call in lots of fireflies, and they’ll come right to you—and they’ll even land in your hand.”As you observe the flashes of male fireflies, also look for female flash responses. How long do they wait to respond, and how many flashes do they respond with? Try mimicking this wait-flash behavior, and see how many males you can attract. How do the intensity, rate, and height at which you flash your penlight affect how many males you attract? Is there any evidence that there is more than one species of firefly flashing around you? How can you tell?
For even more information about firefly biology and flash communication, listen to Science Friday’s interview with entomologist Mark Branham: