Doug wrote to Mark Fritz in Cincinnati that fireflies light on the way up only in the Cincinnati area, but I’ve lived in Texas all my life and I’ve long pointed out the fact that fireflies usually light only when rising. In Sherman, Texas (near Dallas) I used to visit a certain field at twilight to watch the hundreds of fireflies drifting upward as they lit, giving the whole hillside a surreal, effervescing appearance. Now I live in Austin, and the fireflies here do the same thing.
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In my childhood in Pennsylvania (I’m now 26), I recall the fireflies as being very yellow in color. Now, when I see them (still in Pennsylvania), they appear noticeably green. Anyone else second this? (Some I have talked to in PA agree w/me, while others haven’t really noticed a change.)
I had always feared that some manmade environmental change had caused some forced evolution, but considering Doug’s comment that there are 140+ species of firefly, perhaps a greener species is simply pushing the yellow ones out of their niche.
I hear crickets in here and not much else. Bugs me. Sooooo, I’m going to go stand on my head and watch fireflies while drinking Campari through a straw. Then’ll I’ll open my diary and record all of the various trajectories I observed. The results will be published long after I’m dead, and any input will be welcome at that time.
I’ve noticed this too. When I was younger, all the fireflies we ever saw/caught were of the orange/yellow (variations of both) variety. Now all I ever see are green ones. I did see a blue one once, on the screen of my bedroom window when I was about fourteen. I watched it for several minutes until it flew off; convincing myself that I was wide awake, as I knew I would think I’d dreamed it later on.
