Two New Species of Mid-Atlantic Photuris Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) from Pennsylvania and Delaware

Christopher M. Heckscher*

*Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Delaware State University, 1200 N. DuPont Highway, Dover, DE 19901.

Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 30, Issue 4 (2023): 440–448

First published early online: 16 December 2023

Abstract
Recent investigations of the biogeography of fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) in Pennsylvania and Delaware have resulted in the discovery of 2 species in the genus Photuris that lack formal description. Photuris witmeri sp. nov. and P. figuramuto sp. nov. are described herein with notes on distribution and behavior. The primary male flash pattern of P. witmeri is a trembling flash often preceded by a single flash, while that of P. figuramuto is a single bright flash at irregular intervals. To date, P. witmeri is known from Pennsylvania and Delaware, whereas P. figuramuto is known only from Pennsylvania west of the Allegheny Front.

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