Firefly Blitz Regional Challenge #1: Diurnal fireflies in southwest Oregon

Diurnal fireflies just don't get the same level of attention as their flashy cousins! The 2020 IUCN Red List assessments for the US and Canada found that 20 of the region's 31 day-active, non-bioluminescent firefly species were Data-Deficient, meaning that there is great uncertainty about their conservation status.

The Pacific Northwest is a hotspot of sorts for data-deficient diurnal fireflies, which likely comes as a surprise to folks who are unaware of the region having any fireflies at all. This regional Firefly Blitz challenge focuses on diurnal firefly species in southwest Oregon that have not been documented in many decades.

Can we find these rare diurnal fireflies?

Ellychnia obscurevittata

This species is only known from the place it was first collected, the mountains of Klamath County.
Image of the type specimen, courtesy of the California Academy of Sciences

Photo of the Ellychnia obscurevittata holotype specimen, courtesy of the California Academy of Sciences.

Ellychnia granulicollis

This species is known from Fort Klamath, Klamath Falls, and Upper Klamath Lake in Klamath County, Oregon.
Image of the type Ellychnia granulicollis type specimen
Photo of the Ellychnia granulicollis holotype specimen, courtesy of the California Academy of Sciences.

How to identify these species

The Oregon-based entomologist Kenneth Fender wrote a guide to Ellychnia of Western North America (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) that is currently the best reference resource for identification.

Additionally, @ronlyons has become a regional expert on Western diurnal fireflies and is the top identifier for these taxa.