A Species Thought to Be Lost for 40 Years Has Been Rediscovered in a Delaware Meadow
An entomologist made one of the finds of the year when he discovered a swarm of fireflies thought to no longer exist. Christopher Hecksher, an ecologist and entomologist at Delaware State University, came across what he thought was a member of Pyractomena similis, a species of firefly last documented in 1983. Further tests and analysis proved that the “lost” species was alive and well in a Delaware meadow. Via a report in the Journal of Lost Species , Hecksher was able to identify Pyractomena similis by a distinct flash pattern, with an amber color and “long rhythmic flash”, which didn’t match other fireflies in the region. Hecksher searched meadows around Maryland and Delaware, finally finding success in the latter’s Brandywine Creek State Park. Examining the fireflies under a microscope confirmed it was the species thought lost 40 years ago. Many Species of Fireflies Are Widely Unknown It’s not surprising that an entire speci...
