Lightning Bugs

[Senior Citizen]

They used to be as thick as mosquitos in the summer when I was young. Haven't seen one around here in over 10 years now though.

Anyone seen one in a while?

SC

 

[krissylou]

We have still been having them in our yard. They are only out 'lighting' when the temperatures are in a certain range.

 

[USAF385]

I've seen them every year here in PA. Actually this year I was surprised by how many there were some nights.

 

[ladder13]

They used to be as thick as mosquitos in the summer when I was young. Haven't seen one around here in over 10 years now though.

Anyone seen one in a while?

SC

Food for palmetto's.

 

[pinduck]

We have them here in Ohio same as always, grand kids have fun catching them and putting them in jars, pretend lanterns.They are all over my back yard.

 

[jeepjeepwhat]

I have plenty to spare. You must pick up and bring your own jar.

 

[Firehouse]

Behind my house. But not as abundant. It must be that global warming thing.

 

[Spotteddog]

Funny you mentioned it?
It was one of the first of two things I missed when leaving Chicago for the PacNW. No lightning bugs on summer evenings and no crickets chirping at night? The significantly lower number of mosquitoes however, is welcome!
I still miss the lightening bugs.

 

[ecam8000]

Had to take my girls to Missouri to find some. They were all over the place. I was glad to leave the heat and humidity when our trip was over.

 

[cass]

I haven't seen any here in West Texas in nearly 20 years. We used to have lots of lightning bugs, tiger beetles, crickets, but (jet exaust) air polution is killing them off. Plus, the salamanders are totally gone, most lizards including the hornrd lizard, most of the amphibians and nearly all of the non-venomous reptiles. Pretty barren now.

 

[Matt83]

There aren't near as many lightning bugs around here as there used to be. I remember I would catch them in a jar as a kid, there's no way I could do that nowadays. I remember reading an article a few months back saying the lightning bugs are disappearing. Here is an article on a local website about it National science group tries to track disappearing fireflies | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

 

[Spotteddog]

Too many trapped in jars?
(Kidding!)

 

[Senior Citizen]

I haven't seen any here in West Texas in nearly 20 years. We used to have lots of lightning bugs, tiger beetles, crickets, but (jet exaust) air polution is killing them off. Plus, the salamanders are totally gone, most lizards including the hornrd lizard, most of the amphibians and nearly all of the non-venomous reptiles. Pretty barren now.

XXXXXXXXX

Hornie Toads....ahh yes. That's another little critter Ihaven't seen since the 60's either. I used to catch them all the time and take them to elementary school and tell the class they were baby dino's. Haven't seen one since they sodded the cemetary!.

 

[samuelrp]

Plenty in North Carolina....mosquitos are terrible this year !!

 

[tyusclan]

I saw a few out the window just the other night. They're not as plentiful as they used to be, but I do see them. I would figure you'd have a few there where you are as well.

BTW, SC, I'm nearly done with this infernal remodeling job. You still up for a fishing trip one of these days?

 

[Lightfoot4]

I second the North Carolina observation. We usually get the lightning bugs at the beginning of summer. The trees glitter like Christmas! And the mosquitoes ARE terrible this year.

 

[Bullet Bob]

Plenty here too - and mosquitos aren't too bad at this higher elevation (compared to most of NC).

In fact, this is one of the best years in quite a while around here for "fireflies". Maybe because it's been a damp winter and spring, which the larvae like.

I know most of ya'll know this, but since I love these things, here goes - there are many different species of lightning bugs, in most of them only the males light up. Their larvae can also glow, and are sometimes called glowworms, but there is a separate beetle species that also has this name. If you're out in the woods at dusk or dark and turn over pieces of bark, you can sometimes see them.

This isn't an exact quote, but a well known English naturalist was asked which was God's favorite insect, and he replied that it must be beetles, because he made so many of them.

 

[Senior Citizen]

I saw a few out the window just the other night. They're not as plentiful as they used to be, but I do see them. I would figure you'd have a few there where you are as well.

BTW, SC, I'm nearly done with this infernal remodeling job. You still up for a fishing trip one of these days?

XXXXXXXXXXX

Yes Sir. Snapper season ends this Friday night at midnight, but we don't have to keeep them to have fun. I'm still having some major issues with this intra-thecal pain pump, but am pretty sure it's coming out in about 3-4 weeks. It's turned off now and just a pain in my abdomin.

Give me a holler one day and we'll see if we can get something worthy of a "full feature article" complete with photo op!

Lee

 

[Glitch]

I do pay attention to fireflies as I'm often working outside until the last photon disappears. I would rate their numbers here in NC as slightly above average this year. I think it is a cyclic thing, but I have no idea what determines that. They were fantastic the year before last.

I third the comments about mosquitos in NC this year!

 

[Krull]

Yep we have them en mass out here in WV,you see them most in early summer/late spring,like at the start of June or so.

They can be thick then,a bit less as the summer goes on but it's a normal thing to see at night.

I'm from CA and the first time I saw them I was going "***?"