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For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
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Photo#2216036
Photinus scintillans - male

Photinus scintillans - Male
Highland Park, Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA
June 20, 2016
Size: 8.9 mm
Oh boy, a nocturnal firefly other than P. pyralis in my yard! Snagged from low vegetation. There seemed to be a good flight of them around. IDed at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/3500582 on basis of range & ventral coloration. Ventral shot shown; dorsally, thorax is pink & abdomen yellow. Looks much smaller than P. pyralis, & with a different flash pattern. Seems happy to flash either in flight, from the ground, or while climbing a vertical surface. Starting around dusk, when still light enough to see the bug in flight. Flashes are briefer than P. pyr's (~~200-500 ms) and don't show any vertical motion; occasionally given in pairs ~1 s apart but more often separated by several seconds.

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Photinus scintillans - male Photinus scintillans - male