螢火蟲可以透過神經系統控制發光的開與關，有一些螢火蟲可以在短時間內重複開關，形成獨特的發光模式；因此，發光模式可以用作在野外快速分辨部份品種之用。香港螢火蟲的發光模式可以簡單地分為三類：

• 持續發光，熠螢亞科以外的其他螢火蟲基本上都採用這個模式。

• 簡單脈沖，脈沖頻率在1.5Hz至9.0Hz，脈沖持續時間在70毫秒至400毫秒之間，而脈冲間隔時間在60毫秒至400毫秒之間，因品種而異。

• 複式脈沖閃光，每個重複閃光由兩個或更多脈沖組成；脈冲數目、脈冲持續時間、脈冲間隔時間、閃光間隔時間的差異可以形成很多不同組合和獨特的發光模式。

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Through nervous system, fireflies can switch on and off the light emission. Some fireflies are capable to repeatedly switch on and off within a short duration, forming specific flash patterns and therefore flash pattern can be used for quick identification of some firefly species in the field. For Hong Kong fireflies, there are generally 3 types of flash patterns:

• Continuous glow. All fireflies except members of sub-family Luciolinae, basically belong to this category.

• Simple pulsation. Depends on different species, pulsation frequency ranges from 1.5Hz to 9.0Hz, duration of pulsation ranges from 70ms to 400ms, and inter-pulse duration ranges from 60ms to 400ms.

• Flash train. Each repeated flash is composed of 2 or more pulses. Variation on number of pulses per flash, pulsation frequency, pulsation duration, inter-pulse duration, flash duration and inter-flash duration, could form many different combination and specific flash patterns.

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持續發光 Continuous glow

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持續發光 Continuous glow from Hong Kong Fireflies on Vimeo.

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簡單脈冲 Simple pulsation

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簡單脈冲 Simple pulsation

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簡單脈沖式發光 Simple Pulsation Flash from Hong Kong Fireflies on Vimeo.

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複式脈冲閃光 Flash train

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複式脈冲閃光 Flash train

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複式脈沖閃光 Flash Train from Hong Kong Fireflies on Vimeo.