Photographing Endangered Fireflies
Okay guys, now that I've defended my master's, here's a content post:
One of the coolest entomology opportunities I've ever had appeared recently. In May, I was contacted by a local nature park manager, and asked if I'd like to help a Xerces Society (an invertebrate conservation group) photographer try to document endangered fireflies. Naturally, I said yes, and I showed up at 7pm to scout the park and setup for the (potential) emergence of these fireflies.
The Loopy 5 firefly (Photuris forresti) is a recently described species found in forested Palustrine wetlands, notable for its unique flash pattern – they flash 4-11 times, while making a large arc or "loop". They are of particular interest to the Xerces Society because they continue to suffer from habitat loss as wetlands are developed and destroyed. In fact, the initial type locality population has since gone extinct, as the wetland they were discovered in was converted to a golf course :(
The park features a long boardwalk extending over the wetlands, and we setup at a particularly dark and shaded spot, hoping to have the best luck there. 8pm came and went, and the sun set. Nothing had emerged quite yet. 9pm came, and it continued to get darker. Around 9:15pm it was finally dark enough that we expected fireflies at any minute. Sure enough, I spotted something I'd never seen before: a firefly flashing repeatedly, floating over the marsh on a winding up-and-down course. The next 5 minutes were pure magic. The entire swamp slowly blinked to life in a glowing, sparkling show of yellow light. It was genuinely disorienting, tens and hundreds of fireflies flashing in every direction, and I've never quite experienced anything like it.
We got to work. I began chasing the Loopy 5's along the boardwalk, and after a couple attempts, I successfully caught a flashing male! The next point of business was to attempt to stage the firefly in a semi-natural state in order to properly document it. This took the better part of half an hour. Also, I'd just like to say, having many years experience surveying wetlands during the DAY, they can be just as fun to work in at night. 77ºF, humid (we were soaked after a few minutes), and lots of insects flying into us. But we were rewarded with some truly excellent photos of this unique and special firefly. The photographer forwarded his photos to the folks at the Xerces Society, and I made sure to make a (obscured) observation on iNaturalist. The Xerces Society firefly biologist commented that it was nice to see this species out earlier in this location (SC).
A couple weeks after, I determined to get some photos of the unique flash patterns of P. forresti. I set up on the boardwalk again, and brought my own camera this time. After half an hour, the show began. Below are a few of the pictures I captured. The last is, I think, the greatest self-portrait an entomologist could ever ask for:
This story has a happy ending: due to the Xerces Society's continued efforts and documentation, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced just last month that new evidence warrants a species status review for Photuris forresti! This is a big step, as the review process can lead to a species being listed as threatened or endangered, qualifying it for federal protection. Personally? Seeing as how wetland habitat loss has been a pretty successful reason for federal protection in the past, I think the Loopy 5 has a good chance of being considered for listing :)
