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In contrast to most other North American fireflies that use flash dialogs for courtship, males of Phausis reticulata Say (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) (Fender 1966), often called blue ghost fireflies, glow as they fly slowly over the forest floor searching for flightless, neotenic females that are likewise bioluminescent. Recently, these Blue Ghost firefly displays have become increasingly popular as ecotourist attractions. Nevertheless, surprisingly little work has been done on P. reticulata courtship and mating behavior, and little is known of female oviposition patterns. Extensive field observations were conducted at 2 locations in Tennessee USA, leading to the description of new categories of male mate-searching search behaviors and nightly display activities. Spectrophotometric measures of bioluminescence were similar in both sexes (λ max = 552 nm). There was a 3-fold variation in female body size, and size was correlated to the number of dorsal photic organs (3 to 9). Field experiments suggested...

Photuris walldoxeyi Faust, new species, is described as a member of the Photuris versicolor species-group. It can be distinguished by its complex, unique flash-train + glow (FT+G) male courtship flash pattern, one of the most easily recognizable displays in North America. The primary FT+G male courtship pattern consists of a flash-train of 4–9 bright, quick, rhythmic pulses given every 0.4 seconds followed by a prolonged diffuse glow (ca. 1 second) of medium intensity at 17° C while the male hovers flashing near the tips of the branches of bald cypress and swamp vegetation growing in water. The primary FT+G is often followed immediately by a 2-pulsed secondary FT+G that effectively increases the male's visibility. Photuris walldoxeyi has thus far been confirmed in cypress and tupelo-cypress swamps of Mississippi, west Tennessee, and Indiana. During its month-long flight from May to mid-June, peak numbers are present ca. 900–1200 modified growing degree days.

During the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse across the United States, males of the dusk active firefly species Photinus pyralis (L.) were observed flashing at sites experiencing the totality portion of the eclipse which formed a band 113 km wide. Observers at 10 sites from Missouri to North Carolina reported observing this flash activity across a path stretching 912 km across the states where remnant late season populations of P. pyralis were active. Possible mechanisms for triggering firefly flashing behavior are discussed in the context of a total solar eclipse.

The flash communication system of Photinus carolinus in Great Smoky Mountain National Park (Tennessee) is characterized by male firefly synchrony. Photinus carolinus males signal a conspecific female with synchronic trains of flashes. A solitary responding female attracts several males, which is not common in North American rover fireflies. The female and the group of males that she attracts are called a cluster. It is hypothesized that the first male attracted to the female would land closer to the female than would additional males because there would be less tendency for visual confusion. This hypothesis is explored under controlled conditions by replacing the responsive female with an appropriately flashing light-emitting diode (LED) located in the center of a flat target area. When infra-red videography is used to measure the first male and the additional males’ landing distances from the counterfeit female (LED), most fireflies land within 15 cm of the target LED, and the first male does not land closer than the additional males. It is suggested that cluster formation is a by-product of male synchrony and is facilitated by the tendency of males to land near, but not on, females.

The synchronous display of the firefly Photinus carolinus Green in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been enjoyed by park visitors and studied by scientists and naturalists for the past 17 yr. A degree-day model is presented offering a means of more accurately predicting the display season of P. carolinus to facilitate advance planning required for researchers and the management of the thousands of nightly visitors who come to witness the peak firefly display. A modified growing degree-day (mGDD) model (base 50 degrees F, starting date 1 March) (centigrade equivalent base 10 degrees C, denoted mGDDC) provided the best fit to phenology data collected over a 15-yr period. The predictive model yielded the following values for P. carolinus phenology: male emergence, 838.6 mGDD (range, 776-922)/465.9 mGDDC (range, 431-512); "good" display, 992.5 mGDD (range, 931-1075)/551.4 mGDDC (range, 517-597); female emergence, 1068.8 mGDD (range, 956-1224)/593.8 mGDDC (range, 531-680); and peak male display, 1094.2 mGDD (range, 1020-1182)/607.9 mGDDC (range, 567-657). The accuracy and range limits of using calendar dates versus degree-day values are presented. Additional degree-day values are provided for 14 other local firefly and 1 phengodid species to broaden the applicability of using degree-days to aid in prediction of adult firefly seasons.