Male Firefly in Palm of Don's Hand. Actual Size About 1/4" Long.. John Hendon Photo This website contains both ESTABLISHED FACTS and MY PERSONAL THEORIES (marked *) about Phausis reticulata, the "Blue Ghost" fireflies found in undisturbed forests in some Appalachian localities. They are very unusual because they fly with their lights on, without blinking, and they all fly about six inches above the ground. In favorable years it is possible to see tens or even hundreds of thousands of them all flying at one time, making a virtual "carpet of light" in the darkness of the forest. Although they are fairly widespread, there are only a few known* areas where there are as many of them as there are here in THE FIREFLY FOREST. The deep soils here at the Firefly Forest are mostly of the Brevard and Edneyville classifications. I think that the combination of deep mulch and rich soil supports a great abundance of whatever organisms the firefly larvae feed on, resulting in the huge numbers of adult which emerge during favorable years*..They emerge here in mid-April, and there will usually be large numbers of them during most of May. However, their numbers vary from year to year, so there is no way to predict how many there will be. Their emergence is probably related to ground temperature and other factors, such as ground moisture and daylight length.* The life span of an individual male is about 2 weeks.* Most of their life cycle (which I think is two or more years*) is spent underground in the larval and pupal stages. Males and females both are about 1/4 inch long. Males resemble regular "lightning bugs" in miniature, and females look like tiny yellow grubworms with legs. FEMALES ARE WINGLESS AND CANNOT FLY. Click on PHOTO ALBUMS for more pictures.

2 Female Fireflies in Leaf Mulch, with Male(s) Near Top Female. Wayne Wheeler Photo, 30 sec. @ f 2.8 Digital Exposure Males fly about 6 inches above the ground, emitting a CONTINUOUS blue-green glow which lasts a minute or more. Their color and light intensity are similar to that of the 2 females in the picture(left), and they move at a rate of about 1 foot per second. Males begin flying at total darkness (about 9 PM), and cease all activity by midnight. The males seem to space themselves more or less equidistantly apart from each other horizontally when flying*. This is especially noticeable when there are great numbers of them, on the order of one per two or three square feet of terrain. They have been described as "visual popcorn" when they start flying each night. Females probably burrow into the ground each night, as they are soft-bodied and would dessicate if exposed*. Males probably spend their non-flying time in the leaf mulch.* Females are rarely seen, as they are usually hidden in the leaf mulch during "flying time". They have 2 to 8 light spots which glow continuously. Males are attracted to the females by the PATTERN of two or more light spots. Also, there may be a slight difference in the colors of male and female lights, which would help the males identify females.* However, it is female PHEROMONES which alert the males that the females have emerged from the ground each evening, and is therefore the signal for the males to start flying*. Females will mate several times during their lifetimes*, and a much larger female will occasionally be seen. I assume that the larger size indicates that their eggs are starting to develop* NEW INFO: There are two distinct sizes of both adult males and females: 5-6 mm and 8-9 mm. This fact was documented some 60 years ago, but I don't have further details at this time. The fireflies are much more active during misty, foggy nights, following afternoon or early evening light to moderate rainfall. Such nights occur, by definition, during low atmospheric pressure conditions, when there are no air currents or updrafts to disperse the female pheromones*. There are indications that the males do not fly very far from the areas where they emerged, except near the end of their season when there are only few of them remaining*. If this is in fact the case, it would almost certainly be because pheromones mark their "home" areas. The male fireflies will not fly in wind, or when air temperature is below about 55 degrees F. Very few of them will fly in moonlight, but they will fly in the deep shade of the evergreens. Full moons will occur on April 20 and May 20 in 2008, so the greatest numbers of fireflies should be flying during the dark phases of the moon. There are weather circumstances which will kill off most of the males, and prematurely end their season. A few years ago there was a prolonged drought during the time they were emerging, so their season was only about three weeks, after which there were only a very few to be seen. I do not know whether they need water to drink, or simply to prevent dessication. In three of the past thirty-three years, violent late afternoon/early evening thunderstorms killed most of the males. I have no idea what effect these weather events had on the females.

Female Firefly on Back of Don's Hand. Actual Size About 1/4" Long. John Hendon Photo The PRONOTUM (head cover) of the male firefly has two "moon roof" clear areas directly above the eyes (see PHAUSIS MALE link). These probably tell the males that they're flying beneath the forest foliage, where females are more likely to be found. Very few males will fly where there is no overhead foliage, therefore no leaf mulch, therefore few if any females. . On a very dark night, if a male flies within about 6 feet of you, you can see his "spotlight" -- a circle of pale blue-green light (about 8 inches diameter) moving along the ground below and in front of the firefly. You can't see the firefly light itself, because you're seeing the firefly from above. The spot of light on the ground tells the firefly (A) that he is flying at the proper altitude and (B) (possibly) that he is above leaf mulch. Bright moonlight washes out the ground light and overpowers their vision, making it more difficult for them to navigate and to see females on the ground.* Occasionally during the evening most of the males will turn off their lights and stop flying for short periods of time. I THINK THAT THE PRIMARY FUNCTION OF THE MALE LANTERN IS TO MAINTAIN A CONSTANT ALTITUDE AND TO NAVIGATE THROUGH THE UNDERBRUSH.* They may appear to be all flying toward you, but they are actually flying in a "back and forth" pattern, and you cannot see their light when they're flying away from you. So far it has not been possible to get a real-time video of the males in flight. I would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with extremely low-light video photography. From time to time I will be adding more information to this site, and to the NEWSLETTER LINK. In June of 2007 I signed a Conservation Easement on this property with UPSTATE FOREVER, and some friends and I organized a non-profit Corporation named FRIENDS OF FIREFLY FOREST. It is my intention that the Corporation will inherit this property from me. You are invited to become a FRIEND OF FIREFLY FOREST, and help preserve this vital habitat, by sending an ANNUAL contribution IN ANY AMOUNT to: FRIENDS OF FIREFLY FOREST, INC. PO Box 345 Cleveland, SC 29635-0345 Don Lewis President, FRIENDS OF FIREFLY FOREST, INC Copyright 2007, 2008 All Rights Reserved