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Wow! I saw my first lightning bug in years!
Posted on 6/7/24 at 11:46 am
Posted on 6/7/24 at 11:46 am
I have a small patch of woods behind my house and while letting my dog out to do his business, I saw my first lightning bug in years! At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but then I saw it again. I was like a kid in a candy store because growing up, I loved watching those things light up. I couldn't tell you the last time I saw one. Apparently, the pesticides that the bug man sprays when he comes through your neighborhood had pretty much killed them off. I've already position my lawn furniture towards the woods, so tonight I can hopefully enjoy some more sightings.
20
Posted on 6/7/24 at 11:52 am to SwampyWaters
I see them every summer. At least 10 or so every time I look for them.
Posted on 6/7/24 at 11:59 am to SwampyWaters
I was at my farm last Friday hunting (predator) and they were everywhere. I was really shocked at the number of them that were out.
Posted on 6/7/24 at 1:00 pm to SwampyWaters
Bucket list trip - firefly swarms in the Smoky Mountains
quote:
Synchronous fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park's Elkmont area typically begin their mating season in late May and end in early June, with peak activity usually occurring in mid-June. The fireflies' nightly displays can start around 9:30 PM and continue through the night, with the bugs flashing in perfect synchrony:
Posted on 6/7/24 at 1:07 pm to SwampyWaters
I saw the first one of the Summer a couple nights ago.
Sadly, their numbers are really falling off these days.
FYI: Their larvae are beneficials, making a living eating garden pests. Also, there are some species of fireflies that are tricky. They flash to lure in the males of other firefly species, but not for sex......but dinner. They feed on the males of other species.
Sadly, their numbers are really falling off these days.
FYI: Their larvae are beneficials, making a living eating garden pests. Also, there are some species of fireflies that are tricky. They flash to lure in the males of other firefly species, but not for sex......but dinner. They feed on the males of other species.
Posted on 6/7/24 at 1:49 pm to SwampyWaters
We've seen a million of them camping this year
Posted on 6/7/24 at 2:01 pm to SwampyWaters
Pretty cool……
Heard a whippoorwill the other night. First time in a very long time. Even been hearing some quail every now and then.
Heard a whippoorwill the other night. First time in a very long time. Even been hearing some quail every now and then.
Posted on 6/7/24 at 2:35 pm to SwampyWaters
Come visit me, baw. My back yard is awash in them. THOUSANDS of them show up in the evenings. My favorite time of year. 
Posted on 6/7/24 at 3:13 pm to chrome1007
quote:
Heard a whippoorwill the other night. First time in a very long time. Even been hearing some quail every now and then.
Dad was big into birds. Had the state champion bird dog for a while back in the early 60's. Anyway, he used to sit out in the yard at both sets of grandparents in the evenings enjoying the shade and would call quail and whippoorwill right to within just a few yards of him. Been decades since I have seen or heard quail, not all that long on the whippoorwill as I lived 20 years at one of the properties till just a few years ago.
Posted on 6/7/24 at 3:32 pm to SwampyWaters
If you want to see more then leave your fallen leaves on the ground. Try not to rake or mulch them. Fallen leaves are a great habitat for lightning bugs.
Posted on 6/7/24 at 4:03 pm to Shexter
OMG! That's incredible. I may have to add that to my bucket list! Too cool!
Posted on 6/7/24 at 4:13 pm to LegendInMyMind
quote:
I saw the first one of the Summer a couple nights ago.
Sadly, their numbers are really falling off these days.
Growing up, it was entertainment for the kids in the neighborhood. I know I'm showing my age, but we looked forward to seeing them. These days you can barely get a kid to come out of the house to do anything.
Call me old, but I prefer the old days when the simple things in life mattered. I'm already looking forward to seeing if I see any tonight!
Posted on 6/7/24 at 4:19 pm to SwampyWaters
quote:this
Call me old, but I prefer the old days when the simple things in life mattered. I'm already looking forward to seeing if I see any tonight!
i now understand why my grandmotehr spent so much time in her garden
Posted on 6/7/24 at 4:19 pm to AyyyBaw
quote:
If you want to see more then leave your fallen leaves on the ground. Try not to rake or mulch them. Fallen leaves are a great habitat for lightning bugs.
Yep. Fallen leaves are great habitat for all kinds or things. If a person doesn't want to leave them out under their trees a compromise is to use them as mulch, keeping them in the area but looking neater than leaves in the yard.
Posted on 6/7/24 at 4:44 pm to SwampyWaters
Pickle jar, ice pick. Instant summer time sleepover party pack in my youth.
Posted on 6/7/24 at 4:53 pm to SwampyWaters
Good for you, if you aint seen them in a while it's kind of cool.
They are plentiful around here.
If I could train them like hamsters, I could sell chicken an alternative power source.
They are plentiful around here.
If I could train them like hamsters, I could sell chicken an alternative power source.
This post was edited on 6/7/24 at 5:05 pm
Posted on 6/7/24 at 4:58 pm to Shexter
quote:I've seen it in person while waiting for Smoky Mountain Search and Rescue to come find us.
Bucket list trip - firefly swarms in the Smoky Mountains
We were chasing wild brookies on some obscure, hike-in stream far up the Newfound Gap on a side trail that we'd found on a topo map, when we were overtaken by one of the most violent, torrential downpours I've ever seen.
In a matter of seconds -literally 30 seconds or less- the 30 ft wide, babbling brook we were fishing was a 100 yard wide raging river that overtopped streamside boulders the size of a half ton pickup truck.
The only problem was that, out of a group of 5, my cousin and I were the only two caught on the wrong side of the river. The rising water caused us to ascend up the mountainside far into the rhododendron thickets and out of site of the trailhead opposite of us. Mistake #1 was not staying put, but by that point it was getting nightfall, cold as hell, and we didn't know where we were at anyway because of the mad dash up the slope through the thickets to escape drowning.
Long story short, after rubbing our shins raw to the bone from the rhododendron (the S&R crew affectionately nicknamed thickets like that, "rhodohell"), we sat and waited for several hours until S&R came from 6 miles upstream from the nearest foot bridge. By that point we were fighting hypothermia, dehydrated, and bleeding from the rhodohell ripping through our pants and down to the shin bone, but we made the hike out. I did it barefoot because my slip on wading shoes were destroyed from the rhododendron. For the remaining 2 days of the trip I couldn't walk due to the injuries sustained to my shins, so I stayed drunk on whiskey until we left for home. Bad thing was, that little stream was chock full of brookies. Sucked not to go back.
Perched on a ledge overlooking the flooded river and the giant, magnificent timber, expecting to, at best, spend the night, we descended into the blackest nighttime conditions that I've ever experienced. Im talking, "can't see your hand in front of your face" darkness. There were more lightning bugs than I'd ever seen, but not in synchronization, when out of nowhere, the forest lit up all at once with what seemed to be billions of them. It was like a flashlight cutting on and off, it just took them awhile to get their motor running. The first few times it happened it was startling and overwhelming, because any chance of our eyes adapting to the darkness was erased everytime they'd flash. It was blinding at first because the total blackout conditions made the contrasting conditions somewhat unnerving, but once we realized what we were witnessing, it brought a peace to us. It felt like we were in a dream. I firmly believe us sitting there and watching that act of nature for hours helped calm that anxious, human desire to forge ahead.
Turns out, there's pockets of them all over the SMNP that are synchronized, they're just not convenient to get to, and it's believed there are many more populations that synchronize that we just dont know about. According to some, there are small areas across their entire range outside of the park, state, etc. where they synchronize. It was one of the most beautiful, captivating things that I've ever seen, but next time I prefer to see it in a less dramatic fashion.
Posted on 6/7/24 at 5:31 pm to CAD703X
quote:Same here in North Louisiana, and it’s my favorite time of year also. I love hanging out on my screened back porch at night to watch them.
Come visit me, baw. My back yard is awash in them. THOUSANDS of them show up in the evenings. My favorite time of year.
The backyard is lined with beauty berry, blackberry, dewberry, blueberry, honeysuckle, muscadines, late boneset, pine trees, small oaks, and a random black cherry tree. Throw in the random flowers the wife thought were dead (like mums that have exploded back there), and it attracts plenty of deer, foxes, rabbits, birds, butterflies and lightning bugs. It makes for a relaxing place to chill.
Ignore the trench work going on.
This post was edited on 6/7/24 at 5:46 pm
Posted on 6/7/24 at 5:37 pm to mudshuvl05
Did they ask you where you are from?
Posted on 6/7/24 at 7:05 pm to SwampyWaters
they are thick all summer long at my house, we are very fortunate. Love to sit outside and watch the show
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