Photinus pyralis is the scientific name of the common eastern firefly, or lightning bug. I think these little beetles charm everyone, especially children. I know I loved them when I was a child growing up in St.Louis, where their almost-unreal tiny flashing lights are a common sight on summer nights. I admit that we used to catch them in our hands and put them in a jar, which was unkind. I don't know of any other wild creature that's so easy to grab out of the air or off a resting place, though I find it very hard to get a good photo: the one above is the best I could do, and I couldn't get him with his light on!
Last night, I just saw my first lightning bugs for this year, though they've probably been around before now. In fact, the first ones should have appeared in our part of Michigan as early as May. I guess I just wasn't looking, or that I've been going to bed too early, before it's dark enough for them to come out of their daytime hiding places. I still take a childish pleasure when I see the very small glow as they flash a signal to one another in the darkening garden.
Why do I call them lightning bugs? Why do you (maybe) call them fireflies?
An article in Business Insider from 2018 included the above map, showing where people use the two terms. I grew up in Missouri, and have lived most of my adult life in Michigan: both lightning-bug states, though it's a bit complicated in Michigan. The article, titled "Some Americans say 'firefly' while others say 'lightning bug,' and a series of maps highlights an interesting theory why" The article also mentions other names for these appealing creatures: "candlefly, firebob, firebug, glowworm, jack-o-lantern, lamp bug, or will-o'-the-wisp."
Some experts quoted in this article speculate that the term "lightning bug" is more common in the parts of the country that experience many lightning strikes, while the term "firefly" is more common in areas with wildfires. Personally, I doubt this, as many areas have both lightning storms AND wildfires. I just hope these wonderful summer creatures don't disappear because of climate change or too much pesticide or any one of the other terrible risks to good features of our environment.
A Lightning Bug Artist
Radim Schreiber is an artist who specializes in nature photography, especially images of lightning bugs. We encountered him at the Ann Arbor Art Fair a few years ago, and bought one of his photos. Assuming that we are able to go to the Art Fair this year, we hope to see him again (he's scheduled to be there)!
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| An example from the artist's website: "Amber Firefly." (link) I can't imagine how he manages to take such amazing photos. |
Lightning Bug Science
How many fireflies would it take to match the brightness of the Sun?
Blog post © 2023 mae sander
Shared with Eileen's Saturday Critters
12 comments:
Fireflies/lightning bugs...I'm in an overlap region...are magical.
I forgot to look for ours in June! We call them fireflies here.
We saw our first ones around the 4th of July... and we'd been looking for them since the solstice when we had some friends over for dinner and sat outside looking for stars. I think the recent rain rallied them.
Neat!
My favorite bug too!
We have them in France, well we had them at least when I was a kid. Who knows now with all the pesticides and insecticides, so many little animals, birds, and bugs have disappeared there.
Anyway, I fell like I was living in another world when they were out.
So it was fun to find them here as well when I arrived in the US.
That lightning bug photo is fantastic. Had to take much patience to get it so perfectly. Love to watch lightning bugs in the garden at dusk. I had to laugh about the hypothesis of the sun bug. Fun to read.
I also love fireflies, they evoke memories from my childhood when they were abundant in the area where I grew up.
Hello,
Great post on the Lightning bug. I was just looking at some out my window last night. The photos is an awesome capture. It would be a shame to have these lovely creatures disappear because of too much pesticide. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend. Thank you for leaving me a comment.
They certainly do put on a show.
I was already in my 20´s when Ingo drove to a hidden place in the town I grew up in - and there they were... magic!
I grew up in New Jersey where we called these popular bugs, lightening bugs. I too remember going out at night to catch them. We would poke holes in a jar lid and put in the lightening bugs. Was a cruel activity .
Sadly I haven't even seen 1 yet this year. But maybe with global warming they are flashing early. I love them too, and usually they put on a good show in my backyard.
We loved catching them and putting them in a jar! I can still remember the delight of their little blinking in the dark!
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