Ohio Fireflies: New & Familiar, Matthew Speights

Ohio Fireflies: New & Familiar, Matthew Speights
June 6, 2023 at Kirby Nature Center, Tuesday, 7pm

The talk will cover his discovery of the first Ohio population of Blue Ghosts on Bender Mountain, general firefly behavior and identification. Matthew will walk the property looking for fireflies after the talk. How to use smartphone apps for citizen science will be covered. Nearly everyone has watched fireflies flash for a brief second on warm summer nights. Many know that fireflies flash to find mates, but fireflies flash for other, “darker” reasons. The common Big Dipper Fireflies (Photinus pyralis) advertise both to potential mates and to predators, signaling that they are poisonous to eat. Non-poisonous fireflies can flash in Batesian mimicry to imitate poisonous fireflies, and some female non-poisonous fireflies (Photuris sp.) flash to attract male poisonous fireflies, which they then devour to obtain their poisons! The flashing frequency, flight patterns, and colors of fireflies allow a careful observer to determine what species they are. One of the most distinct flashing patterns among fireflies was never seen in Ohio…before last year. The males of the tiny Blue Ghost Firefly (Phausis reticulata) glow a ghostly bluish green for 10-20 seconds as they hover around the forest floor, while the flightless females never stop glowing. Although officially reported from the Southeast up to Tennessee, last summer they were sighted for the first time near Cincinnati.

Event is free, but registration required:
https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/jj9gOKuAPDI6XW5SyPIBog

This presentation will prepare volunteers to look for the Blue Ghost, Phausis reticulata, a rarity in Ohio, that has been spotted at Bender Mountain.