Favoritos de vtspaid

Time: 8:00-8:15 p.m., ~1 hour before sunset.

Length: 10.5-11 mm (pronotum to end of elytra)

Location: Hovering slowly through brush in mature forest with some "Ash gaps" in the canopy (see photo of environment)

Flash color (perceived): Deep yellow/amber

Flash pattern: A fairly brief, stationary blink/flash every 2-5 seconds for a series for 6-9 flashes. It was so light that we easily tracked the individuals between flashes as they flew, then slight paused to flash. Their flash pattern was highly variable, even in a single individual series. One individual was flashing more rapidly (~1 flash per 2.5 sec.), and paused about 3.5-4 seconds in the middle of the series before continuing. Another individual flashed more rapidly on one series than the previous, although fairly consistent throughout each series. It seemed like perhaps they moved to a new vantage point, flashed, and then moved to another vantage point before flashing, perhaps basing the flash timing more on a good view to look for a female's response rather than exact timing (this is speculation).

Temperature: ~80° F (per weather station)

Humidity: ~70% (per weather station)

Wind: Still in forest

MGDD: 1391

Light pollution: Bortle class 5

Notes: Males hovered slowly through brush an hour before sunset. Perhaps 10-15 were concentrated in a small area, often flying near each other (Lynn Faust's book describes this for Photinus australis). Approximately one hour later, we caught another male when we came back through the area (perhaps not the exact spot), which is a surprisingly long time for a species to be flashing.