# Are fireflies ever found in the Western US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 1, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fireflies-ever-found-in-the-western-us/410094 "2007-07-01T03:38:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fireflies-ever-found-in-the-western-us/410094/21 "2007-07-02T15:43:59Z")
I was just thinking the other night that fireflies (“lightning bugs” is what we call them) probably aren’t seen across the US. I’d call them enchanting, nothing like a quiet starry summer night with little blinks of pale yellow all around. Kids love to catch them about dusk, if it gets too dark you can’t see them except the 1/2 second they blink. I might catch a couple too… ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fireflies-ever-found-in-the-western-us/410094/22 "2007-07-02T16:12:50Z")
I’m curious about the firefly dead zone around Buffalo. Cleveland has fireflies. Erie has Fireflies. Rochester has fireflies. Buffalo has … nothing. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fireflies-ever-found-in-the-western-us/410094/23 "2007-07-02T16:59:29Z")
Lightning bugs are one thing I miss about my childhood near St. Louis. I thought they were absent from the western states due to altitude or dry weather, but if they’re not in Washington or Oregon that can’t be it. And it’s not hippies, we have damn few of those in the Big Square Red States®. ---
**Author:** ![T\_SQUARE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@T\_SQUARE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_SQUARE)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fireflies-ever-found-in-the-western-us/410094/24 "2007-07-02T17:38:16Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] I read once about fireflies that glowed on and off _as a group_. It was as if they had a timer on. Anyone know anything about them? [/QUOTE] That sounds like what the fireflies I saw in Malaysia were doing. A group would be chilling in a particular tree and light up and then go dark pretty much together. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fireflies-ever-found-in-the-western-us/410094/25 "2007-07-02T17:49:42Z")
Having lived almost my entire life in Southern California, I can say that fireflies are one of those things we hear about but never see, like snow and real rivers. Fireflies must need moist air or something. Is it true they only light up when descending? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fireflies-ever-found-in-the-western-us/410094/26 "2007-07-02T17:52:17Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] Is it true they only light up when descending? [/QUOTE] Not that I’ve noticed. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fireflies-ever-found-in-the-western-us/410094/27 "2007-07-02T18:44:26Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] Not that I’ve noticed. [/QUOTE] Usually, they light up when ascending. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fireflies-ever-found-in-the-western-us/410094/28 "2007-07-02T19:08:40Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] Having lived almost my entire life in Southern California, I can say that fireflies are one of those things we hear about but never see, like snow and real rivers. Fireflies must need moist air or something. [/quote] The larvae eat snails and slugs, so they do prefer moist areas. > [@](#): > > Is it true they only light up when descending? Each species has its own unique pattern of flashing. In adults the flashes are used as courtship signals between males and females. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fireflies-ever-found-in-the-western-us/410094.md?page=1)