Amazing nature around us
Last night Meg and I had the awesome opportunity to go up to High Knob with one of our good friends to watch the fireflies. Last summer, Jane told us that she thought we have synchronous fireflies in the mountains around us. She described sitting at a camp site feeling in total awe of nature as she watched thousands of fireflies light up the surrounding area in total sync with one another. We'd never heard of such a thing, but her description made us want to see them first hand.
Fireflies are a part of the beetle family (who knew?!). According to the Smoky Mountains website, there are more than 2,000 different species of these bugs, which are called bioluminescent beetles, in the world, and North America alone hosts 125 different species. Fireflies live in warm and temperate regions of the country, and prefer the more humid regions of the US. Female fireflies lay their eggs in the ground, and the larvae mature for almost two years before they emerge as full grown adults. After that, many species do not eat at all, as their main focus is mating to begin the cycle all over again; the average lifespan for a firefly ranges from a few weeks to a few months, depending on their species (National Geographic).
Synchronous fireflies have all the same characteristics as above, with the added feature of blinking in sync with their neighbors. The best place to view these awesome creatures around here is the Great Smoky Mountains, because they have a huge population of synchronous fireflies (like tens of thousands of them!). They have several special ticketed viewing events throughout May and June. Meg and I have both seen fireflies our whole lives, but have never seen any blink in sync, so we were really excited to witness this amazing feat of nature so close to home. We picked up Jane and drove up the dark and windy road to the recreation lake at High Knob. Jane is a "From Here" who knows these mountains and trails like the back of her hand-- she hikes for hours a day with her dogs and on the drive up told us about all the wildlife she's seen this summer on her hikes, including "hundreds of snakes, you wouldn't believe it" and "a gigantic bear yesterday, I am not kidding".
Meg and I, ever city girls, asked, "Those things are sleeping now, right?"
We got up to the recreation lake and used our phones and headlamps to lead the way down a trail to watch the fireflies. The first thing I noticed was how different the color of their light was; the fireflies just 2 miles down the mountain in our front yard are almost a fluorescent yellow color (what would have been called "hot yellow" in the 90's) but the light these fireflies gave off was almost totally white, like Christmas lights. Jane was worried because it's so late in the season, and she didn't think they were as in sync as they were the last time she saw them just a few weeks ago. But Meg and I were impressed nonetheless. All of a sudden, we were standing in total darkness with no hint of blinking. Then, as if on cue, the twinkling began. This species is known for a period of 5 to 8 blinks, then total darkness for about 5 to 8 seconds. We stood and watched them for a while, mesmerized by their white lights and their synchronicity, as we heard sounds of the night like owls and coyotes. It was an amazing experience. Jane explained that since it's the end of the season, the synchronicity was not as strong as earlier in the season; these must be the bugs who haven't yet found their mate as their time winds down. They are synonymous to the guys who end up on the Bachelorette at age 37, looking for love. Realizing that made me kind of sad. I hope each firefly we saw last night is able to find a mate, because that ensures we will be able to see this amazing local feature again for years to come, and as we walked away I sent them all positive vibes, hoping each would find a special firefly that shares their life goals and interests.
On our drive back down, we stumbled upon more amazing creatures of the night. A frantic fox bounded down the road and hopped effortlessly back into the woods... a huge owl (possibly a barred owl?) took flight in front of my car and landed in a tree across the road... a smaller barred owl perched on a wooden sign as we made our way back down the mountain... and two deer watched silently as we passed. It is humbling to be in the presence of such majestic animals, who live just a few miles away from our suburban street.
We will visit the synchronous fireflies again next season, between late May and mid-June, and hope to get in a camping trip or two up on High Knob next summer. We have an abundance of opportunities just within our reach, and we don't spend enough time taking advantage of them. Until then, I will continue to send positive vibes to the Universe in hopes that each of those fireflies finds a mate with whom to live happily ever after.
Fireflies are a part of the beetle family (who knew?!). According to the Smoky Mountains website, there are more than 2,000 different species of these bugs, which are called bioluminescent beetles, in the world, and North America alone hosts 125 different species. Fireflies live in warm and temperate regions of the country, and prefer the more humid regions of the US. Female fireflies lay their eggs in the ground, and the larvae mature for almost two years before they emerge as full grown adults. After that, many species do not eat at all, as their main focus is mating to begin the cycle all over again; the average lifespan for a firefly ranges from a few weeks to a few months, depending on their species (National Geographic).
Synchronous fireflies have all the same characteristics as above, with the added feature of blinking in sync with their neighbors. The best place to view these awesome creatures around here is the Great Smoky Mountains, because they have a huge population of synchronous fireflies (like tens of thousands of them!). They have several special ticketed viewing events throughout May and June. Meg and I have both seen fireflies our whole lives, but have never seen any blink in sync, so we were really excited to witness this amazing feat of nature so close to home. We picked up Jane and drove up the dark and windy road to the recreation lake at High Knob. Jane is a "From Here" who knows these mountains and trails like the back of her hand-- she hikes for hours a day with her dogs and on the drive up told us about all the wildlife she's seen this summer on her hikes, including "hundreds of snakes, you wouldn't believe it" and "a gigantic bear yesterday, I am not kidding".
Meg and I, ever city girls, asked, "Those things are sleeping now, right?"
We got up to the recreation lake and used our phones and headlamps to lead the way down a trail to watch the fireflies. The first thing I noticed was how different the color of their light was; the fireflies just 2 miles down the mountain in our front yard are almost a fluorescent yellow color (what would have been called "hot yellow" in the 90's) but the light these fireflies gave off was almost totally white, like Christmas lights. Jane was worried because it's so late in the season, and she didn't think they were as in sync as they were the last time she saw them just a few weeks ago. But Meg and I were impressed nonetheless. All of a sudden, we were standing in total darkness with no hint of blinking. Then, as if on cue, the twinkling began. This species is known for a period of 5 to 8 blinks, then total darkness for about 5 to 8 seconds. We stood and watched them for a while, mesmerized by their white lights and their synchronicity, as we heard sounds of the night like owls and coyotes. It was an amazing experience. Jane explained that since it's the end of the season, the synchronicity was not as strong as earlier in the season; these must be the bugs who haven't yet found their mate as their time winds down. They are synonymous to the guys who end up on the Bachelorette at age 37, looking for love. Realizing that made me kind of sad. I hope each firefly we saw last night is able to find a mate, because that ensures we will be able to see this amazing local feature again for years to come, and as we walked away I sent them all positive vibes, hoping each would find a special firefly that shares their life goals and interests.
On our drive back down, we stumbled upon more amazing creatures of the night. A frantic fox bounded down the road and hopped effortlessly back into the woods... a huge owl (possibly a barred owl?) took flight in front of my car and landed in a tree across the road... a smaller barred owl perched on a wooden sign as we made our way back down the mountain... and two deer watched silently as we passed. It is humbling to be in the presence of such majestic animals, who live just a few miles away from our suburban street.
We will visit the synchronous fireflies again next season, between late May and mid-June, and hope to get in a camping trip or two up on High Knob next summer. We have an abundance of opportunities just within our reach, and we don't spend enough time taking advantage of them. Until then, I will continue to send positive vibes to the Universe in hopes that each of those fireflies finds a mate with whom to live happily ever after.
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