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.
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25 March 2019
A New Species of Photuris Dejean (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) from a Mississippi Cypress Swamp, with Notes on its Behavior
Lynn Frierson Faust,
Jeff Davis
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The Coleopterists Bulletin
Vol. 73 • No. 1
March 2019
Vol. 73 • No. 1
March 2019
firefly
flash-train+glow
Photuris versicolor
Taxodium distichum
taxonomy
Wall Doxey State Park