Insects › Fireflies
Common Eastern Firefly
Photinus pyralis
28 photos
Study shows up to four per card, from different observers, so you learn the species rather than one picture. Heart the good ones and swap any you do not like.
Photos you add are credited to you, and you keep the copyright.
Easily confused with
Spring Treetop FlasherPyractomena borealis
Short-collared Soldier BeetlePodabrus brevicollis
Short-flash FireflyPhotinus concisus
Little Gray FireflyPhotinus marginellus
Winter FireflyPhotinus corruscus
Silent fireflyPhotinus indictus
Synchronous FireflyPhotinus carolinus
Say's FireflyPyractomena angulata
Study checks a spoken answer against these, and tells you which one you named.
Where it is recorded
| United States | 34,688 |
|---|---|
| North Carolina | 2,796 |
| Ohio | 2,624 |
| Pennsylvania | 2,616 |
| New York | 2,452 |
| Virginia | 2,245 |
| Illinois | 2,208 |
| Michigan | 1,987 |
| Maryland | 1,970 |
| Tennessee | 1,603 |
Counts show where people looked, not only where it lives.
Traits
Physical
- BioluminescentProduces its own lightChecked by the maintainer
- MetamorphosisUndergoes dramatic body transformation during developmentFrom its classification
- ExoskeletonHas a hard external skeletonFrom its classification
Classification
| Kingdom | Animals · Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropods · Arthropoda |
| Class | Insects · Insecta |
| Order | Beetles · Coleoptera |
| Family | Fireflies · Lampyridae |
| Genus | Rover Fireflies · Photinus |
Sources
- Names, taxonomy and observation counts: www.inaturalist.org
- Photos and recordings: the creator and source are on each one.
- How much to rely on each source
Remember the name next time.
Practise Common Eastern Firefly with real photos from different observers. Say the name out loud, and it comes back just before you would forget it.