Lightning Bugs

Bunnies and Bugs – Day 974

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Chocolate? Or Just Striking a Classic Pose? – Photo: L. Weikel

Bunnies and Bugs

The last few days have yielded such an abundant array of magical encounters with insects and animals that it’s hard to choose which photos I want to share. I’m excited that I managed to get a few photos of lightning bugs as they emerged from long field grasses at twilight. And the evening before, just slightly earlier in the evening, a bunny could’ve been the model for chocolate Easter Bunnies worldwide. Bunnies and bugs, an unbeatable pair.

Every now and then you can’t go wrong by taking a walk well after sundown but before all the light disappears. The temptation to do so increases exponentially when we’re enduring day after day of summer heat and, worse, humidity that can bring you to your knees.

Spartacus and I took our daily constitutional just after 8:00 p.m. last night and our efforts were amply rewarded.

Lightning Bugs Frolicking – Photo: L. Weikel

Reprieve From the Heat

Walking well after sundown was the only way to avoid flirting with heat-related complications. As the day unfolded, neither Spartacus nor I felt like keeling over, yet we knew it was a possibility. The air became so hot and close in the late afternoon that even I had to abandon my beloved porch. This was not a defeat I take lightly.

Besides the gift of a complete lack of traffic, walking later treated us to a delightful array of night sounds, primarily comprised of tree frogs, bull frogs, crickets, and catbirds. And as I mentioned above, the lightning bugs were out in full force, rising from their hiding places deep within the crosshatch at the base of the field grasses.

The batch we saw last night seemed to consist of a variety of lightning bug society. There were the quick flashers and the long zippers, trailing their names across the sky like sparklers. Some abdomens sported bold statements  – akin to klieg lights – while others seemed to barely generate any wattage at all.

I’ll be curious to see how well the photo I’m placing below is able to be seen once its published. As it shows up on my laptop, there’s a distinctive quality to it that makes it look far more like a painting than a photo. It delights me – and I hope it translates onto your screen.

Annual Urge

I’m always agog by the magic of walking in the evening. It’s almost as if I forget the loveliness of the experience, in spite of it engaging virtually every one of my senses.

Consider this my annual entreaty to each of you to give yourself the gift of an evening stroll at least once this summer. I know it’s hard to drag yourself outside once the sun is down and you’ve settled into your living room’s comfy spots. But I guarantee you will hold in your heart forever the mystical beauty of watching lightning bugs rise up and play.

Unedited and unfiltered – lightning bugs – Photo: L. Weikel

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A Plethora of Pleasures – Day 937

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Sunset, Tree, and Wildflowers – Photo: L. Weikel

A Plethora of Pleasures

My walks the past two evenings have yielded a plethora of pleasures. From pigs to bunnies to a stunning sunset casting tangerine rays across a field of wildflowers, it’s hard to choose a favorite. Even lightning bugs made their appearance and demanded their share of oohs and aahs.

Lightning bugs are pretty tough to capture with my iPhone. But they were definitely showing off tonight, reveling in their newfound ability to light up the night. Karl and I sat in the dark on our porch and watched them rise from the grass, and slowly make their way up into the trees. A few were sassy and bold, lighting up brightly then dragging their fluorescent abdomens to create streaks across the yard with dramatic flair.

Wary but not afraid – Photo: L. Weikel

Not Much Movement

I don’t know if it was the heat of the day or just a lack of fear, but so many creatures we encountered seemed utterly unfazed by my attempts to take their photo. The bunny allowed me to nearly walk right up to it – and this with Spartacus (obliviously) trotting and sniffing along the way.

A barn swallow continued flirting with me as well. It allowed me to approach and take a slow motion video of it launching into flight that’s stunning.

I didn’t even bother to take photos of all the deer sitting in the fields, their heads the only parts of their bodies popping up out of the wavy grasses. There were at least three moments of unadulterated adorableness when a mommy doe walked onto the road in front of me, only to have the teeny tiniest of fawns stumble onto the road right behind her. I swear, the babies I’ve seen over the past five days or so had to have been born the same day as I saw them.

You Called? – Photo: L. Weikel

Captured My Heart

For now, I’m just going to leave you with a few photos. I’ve had a long day and spent much of it out in the sun. I feel sated by the plethora of pleasures strewn in my path.

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Lightning Bugs – Day 577

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Lightning Bug – Photo: L. Weikel

Lightning Bugs

Two nights ago, on Monday evening, Karl and I took a good long walk that extended into the magical time of twilight. Much to my delight, we were welcomed along the way by lightning bugs rising from their slumber and peeking their heads above the tall grasses that fill the fields and line the roads around our home.

With my sense of time rather hopelessly distorted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, it felt early to be greeting these harbingers of summer. But I guess it’s not. I see I first wrote about them last year on June 3rd, when I discovered a lone firefly hanging out on our porch one morning. I then wrote another post on June 9th – when I reported seeing a grand display as they rose from the forest floor near High Rocks.

Come to think of it, then, it would appear that they’re pretty much right on track. Practically to the day, since it was June 8th when we saw them this year!

Wow. Bug time. You can set your calendar by it.

First Heat Wave of the Season

We took a walk this evening that bumped up close to twilight, but wasn’t late enough, apparently, to witness my favorite luminescent creatures. I have to wonder if they weren’t sleeping in, tucked into the cool shade of the matted undergrowth of the meadows and forests. They may have been tempted to hunker down a bit longer than usual tonight, as the heavy blanket of heat and humidity today made all movement feel like a major, sticky effort.

The heat index was up to 100 degrees today. That’s oppressive. It means that the heat and humidity weren’t bad enough on their own, but they decided to work together to add a little oomph to the punishment being meted out to the humans. But I also think these are prime conditions for firefly eggs to hatch.

I’m optimistic that a post-twilight walk later this week will yield tremendous firefly activity. Or maybe we’ll have to wait until July for the best natural pyrotechnics. In the meantime? I just looked out the window and a wink of light acknowledged my glance.

Lightning bugs. They’re one of the little joys in life that keep me going.

Fireflies – Photo: Stocksy United

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Katydids Here, Katydids There – Day 269

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Rare sighting of a PA katydid – Photo: L.Weikel

Katydids Here, Katydids There

This is my first visit to North Carolina, to the Smoky Mountains, to Amadell in August. So I wasn’t sure what to expect.

What kinds of insects would I encounter? Are there ticks? A lot of mosquitoes? Would crickets play a big part on my private mountain playlist?

I knew for sure that lightning bugs are prevalent here – at least in late May/early June. In fact, this area is world-renowned for its specific strain of lightning bug: the synchronous ones.

Other than that, though, I did not know whether I would share the night, especially with familiar sounds, new ones, or – perhaps – utter silence.

Double Bonus – Lightning Bugs AND Katydids

As the night wears on and I’m welcomed back quite palpably by the Spirits of this Place (as well as the humans, I’m grateful to say), I’m given even more reason to love this place: Katydids!

Nothing says late summer to me more than the scratchy, insistent accusation late into the night by these wonderful insects: “Katydid!” Just the other night, as Karl and I were walking about half an hour after sunset, I wondered if katydids live in North Carolina – or specifically, in the mountains down here.

I’m delighted to report that katydids are full-fledged participants in the Amadell experience. Trust me: any yearning on my part for my Pennsylvania night chatter is fully slaked as I sit here writing with my windows open.

Indeed, I shall be lulled to sleep tonight by their comforting, critcheting calls.

I love katydids.

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Lightning Beauty – Day 203

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Photo: L. Weikel

Lightning Beauty                            

I know lightning bugs are just coming into ‘season.’ Just last weekend while sitting outside on a friend’s lawn I noticed a couple shyly blinking in the nearby woods. They must have been hearty souls, though, for I think they were quite lonely. The rest of their kin were still staying warm wherever fireflies like to cuddle.

When I was at Amadell in North Carolina two weeks ago, fireflies were just starting to rise up from the grasses. Our hosts excitedly regaled us with stories of synchronous fireflies, a phenomenon in which thousands of lightning bugs gather in swarms and flash – you guessed it – in synchrony. It sounds utterly magical; sort of like a natural form of a fireworks grand finale.

Making this spectacle even more unique as a prized experience, the bugs only offer this performance for about one to two weeks each late spring/early summer. The Smoky Mountains National Park actually has an annual lottery for tickets to view this amazing phenomenon.

Listening Retreat – June 2020

Since I’m pretty sure the fireflies aren’t aware of where the National Park boundaries are located, I’m thinking this could be an excellent reason for me to offer a Listening Retreat at Amadell next year during the first week in June! Anyone want to join me?

It just so happens that in 2012, this particular type of lightning bug that engages in this synchronous behavior was discovered in western Pennsylvania! If you might find it a little easier to make a road trip to Allegheny National Forest, you should check out this link.

Today’s Catalyst

You might be wondering what prompted me to write about this tonight. It’s the appearance of the handsome fella whose photo is both above and below.

While I was sitting on our porch this morning having coffee with Karl and picking our cards, I noticed this guy walking on an end table. I recognized his distinctive coloring immediately and knew, from memories of many a collection in a mason jar with holes poked into the top with a screwdriver, that he was a lightning bug.

When I grabbed my phone and took his photo, I was taken by his gorgeous coloring and knew in an instant I’d be sharing this with you. This creature is too beautiful to be ignored.

I’m sure this will not be the last post I write about lightning bugs. When it gets a little warmer here in Pennsylvania, they will put on a show that rivals many a Christmas light village extravaganza. And I know I’ll write about them again because of how much I love them.

But before I do, I hope you will appreciate their beauty even without abdomens that flash seductively – and occasionally synchronously – in the summer air.

Lightning Bug – Photo: L. Weikel

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