Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2019 15:59:40 -0400
From: Shaun and Angie
Subject: Fireflies
Hi!
This is my 1st post on the Chatlist and not exactly the right time of year to do so, but I had the time and wanted to put the information out into our community.
I am sure that everyone that is reading this has seen a firefly. Most of you know of what my husband and I refer to as “Js.” They are the ones you see on summer evenings, fairly large, that do a J shaped ark while looking for a mate on a swath of grass. But, there are many species of fireflies in our county. In as early as March you can see what we call the “High Fliers.” The males search around the tree tops waiting for the females to emerge. Right now we are seeing what we call the “Strobers.” They fly at about hip/chest level and, well, strobe on and off continuously. There are some that blink twice, the Cinco de Mayo that blink 5 times, the “flash and wiggle” ones and even Railroad Worms around here, but then there are the Blue Ghosts. When you first see a Blue Ghost (Phausis reticulata), you think you are imagining it. They are as small as a grain of rice. Only the males fly and their small light never flashes– just a steady low glow. The wingless female sits on the ground with her lit tail in the air– we call them “ground stars.” Their season is a short few weeks at best and already done this year (in May– their activity is based on degree days), but they need undisturbed leaf litter. If you have a forested yard, you might have Blue Ghosts! People travel miles and pay money to see these fireflies that could be in your yard or would be if you could let it be natural.
If you want to know more about Blue Ghosts, here is a good link–
Video about Blue Ghosts–https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r2wRCcHA70
If you want to know more about all the firefly species that are known of today– I am sure there are more to discover– here is a link to a great book. My husband and I were mentioned in it a couple of times!
https://ugapress.org/book/9780820348728/fireflies-glow-worms-and-lightning-bugs/