BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?

Subject: BS: Where are the fireflies?
From: J-boy
Date: 06 May 11 - 01:24 AM

I used to see them all the time when I was a youngster. And I'm a city boy. What the frak is going on?

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: ranger1
Date: 06 May 11 - 08:22 AM

Light pollution, dear. Didn't you read the National Geographic article about it?

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: Ebbie
Date: 06 May 11 - 10:39 AM

Speaking of Things That Used To Be and No Longer Are, when I was a kid sleeping outdoors under the stars, the Milky Way was a great swath above me. I haven't seen it in oh, 65 years.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: bobad
Date: 06 May 11 - 10:41 AM

Where I live I see plenty of fireflies and the great swath of stars that is the milky way.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: Ebbie
Date: 06 May 11 - 10:47 AM

Where do you live, bobad?

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 06 May 11 - 10:58 AM

I see them here in the heart of Kansas city. It's too early for them now, it being May.

They need the chance to pupate underground. Perhaps if you treat the lawn for grubs, you will kill the firefly larva as well.

When there's a drought, the larva die underground. We had some dry years recently with no fireflies, but when we got more rain, they appeared again.

They need tall plants, preferably grasses, from which they can fly into a tree. In June and July, we will have them floating from the shoots under the crabapple tree into the branches above.

The people across the street, who have redbud trees and flowers of many kinds, get even more fireflies than we do.


My mother used to say that when she was a girl in Ohio, fireflies would be abundant over fields of oats.

I've tried to find info on how to encourage fireflies, but that's all I've learned so far.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: bobad
Date: 06 May 11 - 11:09 AM

Ebbie, I live in a rural area in Eastern Ontario, around 60 miles from any sizable urban area.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 06 May 11 - 11:14 AM

In the outlying reaches of the star system, of course.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: Penny S.
Date: 06 May 11 - 11:19 AM

Over here, where we have the related glow-worms, there have been losses recently for various reasons. But we have heard remarks of the "When I were a lad, there were so many you could take them home in a jam jar and read by their light. I don't know where they've all gone to." Uhm... run that by yourself again....

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: pdq
Date: 06 May 11 - 11:24 AM

Most of the US has fireflies and their population is just fine, although big cities eventually lose most of their native animal populations, being replaced by species that can deal with the conditions such as rats, flies, cockroaches and a few hardy birds.

Fireflies are beetles and most have soft outer wings, but Texas has species of hard-shelled click beetles that emit light.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: ranger1
Date: 06 May 11 - 11:51 AM

Actually, pdq, firefly populations are decreasing. There have been numerous scientific studies lately related to that.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: pdq
Date: 06 May 11 - 12:04 PM

I didn't say that firefly populations were not decreasing. They are doing far better than the butterflies and moths. Butterfiies may be around 1% of the population they were 100 years ago. Moths, harder to tell since they are mostly nocturnal.

When is the last time you say several swallowtail butterflies competing for nectar from the same flower? I have not seen a single monarch or swallowtail in three years.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: ranger1
Date: 06 May 11 - 12:31 PM

Last summer.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: gnu
Date: 06 May 11 - 12:42 PM

I have them all in a glass jar. Don't worry, I poked holes in the lid.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: ranger1
Date: 06 May 11 - 02:58 PM

Gnu, did you forget to pay the electric bill again?

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: J-boy
Date: 06 May 11 - 03:20 PM

Tami I thought you were going to tell me that FOX cancelled them.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: bobad
Date: 06 May 11 - 03:32 PM

As a matter of interest the chemical responsible for the light emitted by the firefly or lightning bug, as it is called in parts of the US, is luciferin. The light is produced when it is oxidized in presence of the enzyme luciferase.

The etymology of the name Lucifer is also interesting. It's meaning is derived from the Latin lucem ferre which means light bearer, it was the name given to the dawn appearance of the planet Venus, which heralds daylight and is known as the "Morning Star" or "Day Star" in English.

From Wikipedia:

"The Bible does not name the devil as Lucifer. The use of this name in reference to the devil stems from an interpretation of Isaiah 14:3-20, a passage that does not speak of any fallen angel but of the defeat of a particular Babylonian King, to whom it gives a title that refers to what in English is called the Day Star or Morning Star (in Latin, lucifer).[2] In 2 Peter 1:19 and elsewhere, the same Latin word lucifer is used to refer to the Morning Star, with no relation to the devil. It is only in post-New Testament times that the Latin word Lucifer was used as a name for the devil, both in religious writing and in fiction, especially when referring to him prior to his fall from Heaven."

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: gnu
Date: 06 May 11 - 05:35 PM

I miss my camp. Sold it. It was up hill about 200 yards from the river and had a backwash 100' from the river. I remember one moonless and cloudy night... the "yard" between the camp and the backwash had so many fireflies, right up to treetop level, that the yard was lit up enough to walk around without a lamp. Heaven.

I miss my camp. It's on the Member Photos page.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: Ebbie
Date: 06 May 11 - 10:54 PM

Ummmmm. I was thinkin' that fireflies are not found west of the Rockies. ?

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 07 May 11 - 03:30 AM

We saw a few here a month or so ago, but we've had rather unusual temperature swings that would not be good for their survival, and with the prevailing winds we've had since then any of the ones we saw that might have survived have quite probably all drowned in the east coast floods 1500 miles from here.

Most surrounding area reports were of 35 to 50 mph sustained winds, with gusts at 50 to 80 for the past several days, but not enough precipitation to break the drought anywhere nearby or to our south and southwest.

There was a documented decrease in firefly populations here in the early 50s due to spraying for mosquitoes in most towns of any size, and a slight rebound when the bans on indiscriminate pesticide use appeared, although in-town displays were never again what I remembered from my earlier days. Out on the lakes and creek banks where the night fishin' was good, there were still impressive crowds of them into the mid 80s, but I haven't been where I'd really expect to find large populations since about then. (None of the fish you can catch nearby are safe to eat in any quantity - along with other reasons like "my keepers won't let me out at night.")

John

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: Donuel
Date: 07 May 11 - 12:25 PM

They show up late May to July 4th around here.

I was in a screen house tent one night down by a little stream when a rain storm came up and drenched the screen walls of the tent with flowing water. The fire flies came up close to the tent walls for shelter and when the would illuminate the watery walls of the tent magnified the light 10,000 into a great balst of light from all the lenses of water in the screen. Soonthere where hundreds of fier flies and the tent was a magnifagorium of lights patterns and rhythms.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: gnu
Date: 07 May 11 - 12:56 PM

Would a great to get pics of that tent!

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: gnu
Date: 07 May 11 - 12:57 PM

Woulda been... gee whiz.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 07 May 11 - 02:41 PM

firefly.org is headlined, "Glowing, Glowing, Gone." I wasn't aware of the issue. They also say, "In the U.S., almost no species of fireflies are found west of Kansas." I know there are glowworm species out west, which really are the same thing, they just don't use light as adults for courtship.

~ Becky in Long Beach

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: Penny S.
Date: 07 May 11 - 03:35 PM

Ours are related beetles, though the females, which do the glowing, do not fly. They crawl up vegetation and shine to attract the males, which do fly, and only light up two faint spots if disturbed. The females, with no wings, look like the larvae, which can also manage a couple of spots, which they extinguish if disturbed.

My friend and I had never seen them until the year of the VE day anniversary celebrations. We were in a nearby wood, and saw a green glow on the side of a path. We thought someone had left an LED there for some nefarious purpose! Until we saw the segments when we got close. There was a fairly good colony in that wood, until Thames Water drove a new main through the best bit of it.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: pdq
Date: 07 May 11 - 03:56 PM

Everyone knows the term "glow worm" but not everyone knows what one really is.

It is the flightless female of some species of fireflies, family Lampyridae.

If you want to identify one as the larva or as a larviform female (adult), look at the eyes under a microscope. Larvae have simple eyes, adults have compound eyes.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: deepdoc1
Date: 07 May 11 - 06:13 PM

The passing of Fireflies teaches us Serenity. Shiney.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: GUEST,DonMeixner
Date: 08 May 11 - 10:39 AM

Just stop by my back yard around the first of July, a warm evening is best. Bring a small single element LED light to blink to attract them. But if it is cool it would be best to wear a Brown Coat.

Don

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: gnu
Date: 08 May 11 - 01:50 PM

"They crawl up vegetation and shine to attract the males"

Red light district?

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: gnu
Date: 08 May 11 - 02:15 PM

Bugs.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: Penny S.
Date: 08 May 11 - 04:31 PM

The lady of the night - not a beauty!

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: Penny S.
Date: 08 May 11 - 04:33 PM

Omitted from the above - click on the tab labelled "The Beautiful" at the bottom. I thought it would go straight there.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 08 May 11 - 10:01 PM

I haven't seen them in Midcoast Maine for five years or more.

I miss them.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: Nancy King
Date: 09 May 11 - 09:15 AM

My yard in the DC suburbs, which backs onto a wooded area, is excellent firefly viewing territory (though they're just a little bit less spectacular since houses were built just beyond the woods -- fewer trees, more light up there now). Late June - early July seems to be the prime time for them. Each year I worry that they won't come back, but they always do. It amazes me how high in the trees they fly. I love 'em -- they make the woods sparkle!

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: maeve
Date: 09 May 11 - 09:57 AM

We are also in Midcoast Maine, and see wonderful firefly light shows every summer. They seem to be increasing here. Our honeybee and Mason bee populations are healthy as well, feeding from late February through late fall.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: olddude
Date: 09 May 11 - 10:05 AM

Every summer, it is like the northern lights in my yard. I go no shortage of the critters for sure.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: maeve
Date: 09 May 11 - 10:16 AM

Ebbie, you are welcome to enjoy the Milky Way at our new house.

Maeve

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: pdq
Date: 09 May 11 - 11:04 AM

"...you are welcome to enjoy the Milky Way at our new house..."

Or perhaps a Mars Bar?

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: Ebbie
Date: 09 May 11 - 11:56 AM

Silly boy. Mars is inaccessible at this point.

Thanks, Maeve.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: gnu
Date: 09 May 11 - 05:29 PM

I envy your spot, m. Idyllic. Owls, turkeys, deer, fireflies, chooks, Milky Way.... heaven on earth. You even got yer own spuds to throw at the cats in garden.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 15 Jun 11 - 10:18 PM

In today's NY Times: Fireflies, Following Their Leader, Become a Tourist Beacon

ELKMONT, Tenn. — Lynn Faust remembers the old days of firefly season here.

You would hike into the woods at night, with nobody else around, waiting for one of nature's strangest and most beautiful rituals. Then the fireflies would emerge, thousands and thousands of them, and under the moonlight they would all flash in unison. On. Off. On. Off.

"It's as though they wear little watches," said Ms. Faust, 56, a biologist and naturalist who has studied fireflies for decades. "It's awe-inspiring, it's beautiful, it's rhythmic and it's bright. You're surrounded by the fireflies."

These days, you are also surrounded by the tourists.

The secret is out about this marvelously rare and very brief annual spectacle. About a thousand tourists a night come to Elkmont, a small trailhead in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, during the two weeks each June when the country's largest population of synchronous fireflies puts on what locals call "the light show."
...
Synchronous fireflies have been observed in Southeast Asia and reported, but not as well verified, along various parts of the southern Atlantic Coast, in Georgia, Tennessee and West Virginia. But Elkmont's population is the Western Hemisphere's largest, so dense that you can hardly walk without hitting one.

Jonathan Copeland, a Georgia Southern University biologist, made the official scientific discovery about Elkmont's fireflies, reported in the Journal of Insect Behavior in 1995. Every year since, park officials say, the crowds have grown, creating up to a four-hour wait for buses to the trail on weekends.

---

A new one on me. There's a video with the article.

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: artbrooks
Date: 16 Jun 11 - 12:08 AM

None here - we are actually south of the Rocky Mtns.

Subject: RE: BS: Where are the gorram fireflies?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 16 Jun 11 - 10:48 PM

Thanks for the info, Becky. I remember seeing white fireflies in the Smokies one Memorial Day weekend.

I saw a few in my garden an hour ago. They glow gold, not white. They were hoving over the lilies, some of which are about 2 feet high, and some which are four feet high.