A Local’s Guide to Finding Bugs Whose Butts Light Up in the Great Smoky Mountains
I was an adult man, young but fully adult, before I found out there were parts of the United States without lightning bugs. I suppose I’d just never really thought about it. Lightning bugs were just a part of summer. I remember being a youngster with a mason jar with air holes poked in the lid, running around at dusk and catching as many as possible. I also remember kids smushing them. They used the phosphorescence to make a briefly glowing ring around their fingers. Gruesome in retrospect but not out of the ordinary for boys in the early ’80s.
It wasn’t until I met Casey, who had lived in the arid deserts of Eastern Oregon, that I found out the lightning bug wasn’t ubiquitous. The bugs – which do exist in Oregon – prefer warm, humid climates. The internet tells me they can be found in every state of the country except Hawaii but are more abundant in the South and the Midwest.
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Of course, living only a few miles from the park, I learned about the rare Synchronous fireflies (Photinus carolinus) before I learned about the poor lightning bug-deprived communities sprinkled among the arid climates in our nation.
Synchronous Fireflies
There are 19 species of lightning bugs in the Smokies alone; among them are the synchronous fireflies. And their – I’m going to use the scientific term here – butts light up in synch. It is as if they are performing a little light show, which I guess they are. The other 18 species of lightning bugs in the park just flash at any time they want. There are three species of lightning bugs in the country that are synchronous. There’s another community at Congaree National Park in South Carolina and one in the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania.
Why do the fireflies light up in unison? According to the National Park Service, it’s a way to stand out during mating season. With so many species of fireflies – some of whom are predatory – the pattern allows the females of the species to recognize the males. How does it work? The males have a series of flashes that will start the evening randomly. But then, they start to synchronize until the forest is throbbing with light, a little bit like a lightning bug disco.
Where To Find Them?
In the Smokies, the most common place is in Elkmont. In fact, the park service holds a lottery for a viewing at a location near the Elkmont Campground. This isn’t the only place you can find them but it’s pretty well the most guaranteed spot. I’ve been told you can see them as far away from the mountains as Maryville or even Morristown. However, I have never seen them outside the park.
Your best chance to see them is to enter the lottery, which costs a dollar. If you are selected, you will be charged an additional $24 to the same card. Winners will be given a pair of dates from which they can select and a parking pass to access the event.
Among the stipulations are for visitors to cover their flashlights with a red filter and point it at the ground when walking to the spot, turning it off when you get there. You must stay on the trail, and you’re not allowed to catch the fireflies.
The Dates and Time of Year
The lottery process begins in late April and applicants will be notified in mid-May. The mating season lasts two to three weeks each year. NPS scientists use a variety of factors to estimate when the season’s peak will be. This year’s annual firefly viewing opportunity will be in early June. For more information, check the website here.
What’s in a Name?
Throughout this article, we have called these bioluminescent flying beetles both lightning bugs and fireflies. The terms are interchangeable, there is no right or wrong. I will frequently use both, with a slight regional preference for the term lightning bug. I think I’m more likely to refer to a single beetle as a lightning bug and a group of them as fireflies. But I don’t have any charts or graphs to support it. The National Park Service, however, rides hard for fireflies and uses that term almost exclusively.
The internet tells me that the people of the Midwest and South prefer the term lightning bugs. But the people of New England and the West prefer the term fireflies. There appears to be no scientific reason for one or the other, just regional, like soda, soda pop, pop and coke.
Have you viewed the fireflies in the Smokies? Let us know in the comments! Are you planning a trip to the Smoky Mountains soon? Make sure to check out our coupons page before your trip!