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Studying synchronous fireflies on Jin the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.Īnd in Europe, they are called something else entirely: glowworms.Īll that said, none of those terms are correct. Of a couple dozen comments on a Facebook thread - a very serious poll - the vast majority said they are known as lightning bugs in the Hoosier state. Many people in Indiana feel strongly about using what they say is the correct term. But at the very least, it makes for a good tale and more regional debate. More research is needed to confirm if that is in fact the case. The correlation could be a mere coincidence. In much of the West, where “firefly” is used more frequently, wildfires are a more regular occurrence. I’m sure you can see where this is going. Lightning bug is the term of choice for most folks from the Midwest and the South.īut why it breaks down that way gets even more interesting.Ī meteorological researcher surmised a couple years ago that the areas where people tend to say “lightning bug” overlaps with the parts of the country where lightning strikes are more frequent. I keep coming across articles about lightning bugs and I’m glad that we can do our part.įirefly Conservation & Research (Firefly.As it so happens, research shows that firefly is the more common term used out West and in New England.
#Lightning bugs how to#
Read the article “ How to Help” for more information about their recommendations. Do NOT introduce earthworms to your yard.Avoid use of pesticides, especially lawn chemicals.Create water features in your landscape.lightning bugs), which are probably our best-known fireflies due to the quick, bright flashes they produce.” How Can You Help?Īccording to, you can help in the following ways: In fact, fireflies can be split into three main groups depending on their style of courtship: daytime dark fireflies, which are active during the day and do not produce light glow-worm fireflies, whose flightless females produce long-lasting glows and flashing fireflies (a.k.a. However, not all adults are capable of producing light. Who knew!Īgain, according to Xerces, “The larvae of all firefly species are bioluminescent. The beetles that I see are “flashing fireflies” also known as “lightning bugs.” All lightning bugs are fireflies, but not all fireflies are lightning bugs. I call them lightning bugs, but most of the articles I have read use the term firefly more often. The complete life cycle can take anywhere from a couple of months to two to three years, with the majority of the life cycle spent in the larval stage … Most fireflies pupate underground or in rotting logs, although some attach to tree trunks.” Lightning Bug or Firefly? Like all beetles, they undergo complete metamorphosis with four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
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In fact, our landscape practices are probably fostering them.Īccording to Xerces, “Fireflies are not flies but actually beetles in the family Lampyridae. So ceasing our use of any lawn chemicals two years ago may coincide with their return to our yard. I think I read that the lightning bug life cycle is two years from egg to bug and that they nest in the ground.
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Though it’s not the hundreds or thousands that I saw as a child and we can count them each night on our hands, they are returning to our yard. While we have begun actively welcoming butterflies to our garden, I think it has had a secondary benefit: my son and I have been seeing lightning bugs in our yard this summer, both during the day on plants and lighting up at night. I am sure you have heard that there is an insect apocalypse! Many native insects, including the pollinators that make the food supply possible, are disappearing.Īfter accidentally becoming a caterpillar and butterfly mom a few summers ago, we have changed the way that we landscape, including not using chemicals on our lawn and planting lots of host plants for butterflies and their caterpillars. These experiences and memories aren’t ones that my own children have. I remember being at my grandmother’s house in Vermont as a child, and the neighbor boys and I would see so many of them in the nearby meadow. They seemed as infinite as the stars in the night sky. We would catch them in jars and use them as a “lantern.” We would chase after them and even try to count them. When I was a kid, the night would light up with lightning bugs, also called fireflies.