Cross-posted on www.drawntothewest.com
There aren’t supposed to be any fireflies in Montana.
At least not the type that blink and flash in a mesmerizing stereotypical way. But, I’m getting ahead of myself, because when I saw fireflies flashing this summer, I didn’t know any of the science behind what I just told you.
Just days before the 4th of July, family friends invited my mother and me to come to their place at dusk. No explanation, just a promise of a remarkable natural spectacle. As the sun waned, we walked from their house out into the brushy riparian area behind their garden.
At first slowly, and then with increasing intensity and frequency, pinpoints of light built into a twinkling crescendo.
My mother was as stunned as I. She was born in the same small town, has lived there most of her life, and has only heard of such a local light show. While I scurried about trying to catch a few of the insects in a clear mason jar, she and our hosts chortled about how the best fireworks show that holiday weekend was happening right there along Spring Creek.
The two insects I caught, observed, and sketched would have been gladly welcomed into the nascent firefly collection being assembled by Dr. Michael Ivie of the Montana Entomology Collection (MSU). By the time I visited him, the week after the 4th of July, the fireflies were done flashing, so collecting more wasn’t an option.
This week’s column
The following illustrations accompany the column, which is available to direct subscribers (new!) and publications running Drawn to the West as a syndicated column. These are the illustrations I sent Dr. Ivie to identify the species we saw.
Excerpts
- True fireflies are beetles of the family Lampyridae. James E. Lloyd, a Florida entomologist and the country’s preeminent “fireflyer,” reports there are at least 185 firefly species in North America and a minimum 1148 species globally. Of the three types of fireflies, only lightning bugs fly and pulse light. Dark fireflies emit pheromones rather than light, and glowworms simply glow.
- Astonishingly, fireflies produce no heat when they illuminate. A lightbulb producing the same intensity of light would generate approximately 80,000 times the heat. Depending on the species, firefly lights can be yellow, green or even pale red.
- Because they contain heart-stopping toxins, fireflies warn off would-be predators with their lights. Hence, fireflies have few predators, but humans are top of the list. Unfortunately for firefly populations, we find luciferin and luciferase useful. These compounds have been used to code genes, test for bacteria contamination in foods, and measure effectiveness of cancer drugs.
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Bethann Garramon Merkle, MFA 
I wold like to announce the arrival of the yearly firefly light show here in Deer Lodge Mt. 6/13/2018 11:40 pm. I noticed the pale yellow quarter second flashes in a 100 yd stretch of the marshy brook side in the horse pasture below our home. They were taking turns revealing their gentle pale yellow glow. This happens yearly here but,I was surprised as the temperatures have not been ideal for a hatch. Anyway they are here.