I spotted the first firefly just before 11 PM tonight.
Seems a trifle early for these parts, but a biologist and/or meterologist would have to confirm that.
Latitude and longitude: 34.05 N by 85.31 W.
High temperature today was 89 F, and we had periods of rain today. Yesterday was 90 F. 7 to 12 degrees above normal for here, depending on whose table you read.
I thought I saw one about ten days ago, but wasn't sure. And that would definitely have been early.
Gosh…I haven’t seen fireflys in 30 years…since I was a kid in Texas.
Where are they predominately found in the U.S.?
They're all over the southeast US. I also remember them in NY. Perhaps southern New England too, but it's been 40 years since I spent any time there, and I'm no longer sure.
We used to see lots of them in cottage country in southeastern Ontario. I have some friends that live on the same lake back there. I asked them if they still hear whip o wills. They said not for years.
They're common to Wisconsin.
Reminds me of a joke, based on the FACT that fireflies blink to attract mating partners.
Two female fireflies are sitting on a bush near a construction site, where there's a couple of orange safety flashers going.
One says to the other
"No way THOSE are real!"
I think we get them first week of June here in the DC area. Maybe late May. I forget exactly when they appear. We seem to have had fewer of them in recent years.
Fireflies always make me think of my daughter's 4th birthday in 1987. My mother had just passed away the end of May. With the funeral around June 1 followed by several days of shiva (traditional mourning), and just trying to help my dad cope, by the time my daughter's birthday rolled around a few days later, we just didn't have the energy to put on a party and entertain a bunch of 3 to 5 year olds.
"That's ridiculous," said a very dear, now departed, friend whose daughter was one of our daughter's preschool playmates. She called another playmate's mother. Late that afternoon, they showed up with their two daughters, presents, party hats and cake, which I'm sure the first friend -- an expert baker -- baked in a hurry.
We fed the girls cake and watched the opening of presents and playing with toys. As sunset approached, we gave them each jars and sent them into the back yard to catch fireflies. It was the best birthday celebration ever, a tremendous display of friendship, and all I could do to keep from crying.
I was a kid in MO & OK. But “lightening bugs,” as we used to call them, aren’t to be found out here. Nor is one of my favorite birds—the northern cardinal.
Make hay while the sun shines...
If the fire flys git the chance to do thier bidness...
Well..they gonna... ;0)
I saw one recently! Looking forward to seeing more!
P.S. If you ever get the chance, you might go to see the synchronous fireflies in the Smoky Mountains... Elkmont & Cade's Cove are some areas... I hear there are other locations, such as in North Carolina, as well...
Edited by - Banjfoot on 05/23/2022 07:35:41
I remember a campfire one night all gooned up rummaging around in the dark for some more firewood. I found a log & tried to break a dead branch off. The whole log broke open & it glowed inside!
I called the boys & a few of them rubbed it on their faces for a laugh. The next morning it was funny because it was pretty much just dirt! Oh to be a crazy teenager again!
Edit so you don't think I'm still crazy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-egheoxqB8
Sorry i didn't get that ad when i first saw it! 
Edited by - bubbalouie on 05/23/2022 07:59:55
I spotted one two nights ago. Pretty sure I had seen one a couple days prior in the afternoon flitting around.
When I was little one summer at my grandparent's, I had collected lightning bugs and stuck them in my pant's pockets. Unbeknownst to my mother when she washed said pants, she discovered this yellowish slime in the washer and pockets and could figure out what it was, until questioning me.
Edited by - Noah Cline on 05/23/2022 08:27:13
I brought some in my tent when I was a kid. When I woke up i wondered were all those beetles came from!
quote:
Originally posted by Noah ClineI spotted one two nights ago. Pretty sure I had seen one a couple days prior in the afternoon flitting around.
When I was little one summer at my grandparent's, I had collected lightning bugs and stuck them in my pant's pockets. Unbeknownst to my mother when she washed said pants, she discovered this yellowish slime in the washer and pockets and could figure out what it was, until questioning me.
Who knew you almost were the inventor of slime. The stuff my granddaughter loves to make and make a mess with.
We used to collect them in glass bottles and read comic books by their light,,,, back in Canada’s banana belt- the Niagara Peninsula
30+ years ago there were folks in Iowa catching them for some form of medical research into the chemical properties of luciferin, the compound that makes them light up. We still have them, but I haven’t heard of anyone getting paid to catch them these days.
