Synchronous Fireflies: Magic in the mountains
June 14, 2010 By: almostgotit Category: UncategorizedMy daughter called me outside this evening to see the twinkling, Christmas-tree lights in our trees. I didn’t grow up with fireflies, so they are still magic to me, and they are at their best late in the evening when it’s fully dark, after they’ve moved out of the grass and up into the dark tree crowns. This week they are at their summer peak.
Several of my acquaintances planned to go up into the Smoky Mountains this weekend to see a very special group of fireflies: one of only two populations of the insects in the world that flash in unison (the other group is in Japan). It seems impossible, but after seeing a few videos like this one, I have vowed: NEXT YEAR I am going to go see the magic Elkmont fireflies myself.
Imagine a whole forest doing this:
June 14th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
That’s really neat! Definitely, go for it next year!
June 15th, 2010 at 12:21 am
Amazing. I wouldn’t have thought such a thing would be possible. I’ve only gotten to enjoy fireflies in once of the many places I’ve lived–New Jersey, and that was only for a few months.
June 15th, 2010 at 10:59 am
Wow, cool! Usually you have to go to the red light district to see synchronized flashing.
June 15th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Fireflies–lightning bugs, we like to say–have been pretty scarce the last few years in my part of West Tennessee, but this year I’m seeing more than I have in a long time!
June 18th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Love it! Never knew such a thing existed even though I’ve lived several places with fireflies. Now I wanna go see ‘em, too!