# no Lightning bugs west of Miss. River? uL? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 12, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776 "2013-06-12T01:37:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/1 "2013-06-12T01:37:49Z")
True? ---
**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:** [June 12, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/2 "2013-06-12T02:00:44Z")
Some lightning bugs/fireflies are found west of the Mississippi, but the ones that flash are rare west of Kansas. (Most members of the family in the West do not light up, but [a few do.](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/science/wonderquest/2001-08-08-west-fireflies.htm)) [This](http://www.readysetglow.org/foreducators/Lesson5WherearefirefliesfoundinUS.pdf) shows some maps of firefly sightings in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/3 "2013-06-12T02:09:21Z")
Wait, lightning bugs that don’t light up? If that’s where the cladistic classification leads us, then I think it’s probably best to just not insist that “lightning bugs” be a clade. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/4 "2013-06-12T02:41:24Z")
We certainly had them growing up in Kansas City, Missouri. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/5 "2013-06-12T03:25:00Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > We certainly had them growing up in Kansas City, Missouri. And they’re still here. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/6 "2013-06-12T03:35:43Z")
We had them in East Texas, too. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/7 "2013-06-12T03:35:59Z")
Got 'em in Texas. ETA: or, what he said. had them in West Texas growing up, too. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/8 "2013-06-12T03:36:08Z")
So,are there other examples of species that exist mainly East of the Rockies? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/9 "2013-06-12T04:24:17Z")
Hellman’s mayonnaise. But beyond that, sure. There are a bunch of species that stop at the Rockies. The first one that comes to mind is the deer tick, which is the main tick species that spreads Lyme Disease in the eastern US. (Lyme disease on the west coast is spread by another tick.) But there are a lot of species. The Blue Jay. The Northern Cardinal. The Eastern Spotted Skunk. The sugar maple. Etc. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/10 "2013-06-12T04:30:03Z")
Plenty of pretty glowing fireflies in Iowa and also here in eastern Nebraska (at least in the areas which aren’t bombarded by garden sprays). ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/11 "2013-06-12T04:30:07Z")
We definitely had them in NE Arkansas. But we were right on the Mississippi, so maybe that doesn’t count? ---
**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:** [June 12, 2013, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/12 "2013-06-12T04:37:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wait, lightning bugs that don’t light up? If that’s where the cladistic classification leads us, then I think it’s probably best to just not insist that “lightning bugs” be a clade. Not only are there some lightning bugs that don’t light up, many [fireflies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly) don’t even fly! ([Glowworms,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Leuchtk%C3%A4fer_-_Firefly.JPG) to be exact.) > [@](#): > > Many fireflies do not produce light. Usually these species are diurnal, or day-flying, such as those in the genus Ellychnia. A few diurnal fireflies that inhabit primarily shadowy places, such as beneath tall plants or trees, are luminescent. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2013, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/13 "2013-06-12T04:39:48Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > So,are there other examples of species that exist mainly East of the Rockies? Hundreds, probably thousands. The Great Plains is a major biogeographic barrier, as are the Rockies themselves. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/14 "2013-06-12T04:56:37Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Hellman’s mayonnaise. > > But beyond that, sure. There are a bunch of species that stop at the Rockies. The first one that comes to mind is the deer tick, which is the main tick species that spreads Lyme Disease in the eastern US. (Lyme disease on the west coast is spread by another tick.) But there are a lot of species. The Blue Jay. The Northern Cardinal. The Eastern Spotted Skunk. The sugar maple. Etc. The Northern Cardinal is abundant here in Southern Arizona. I’ve seen them outside of my back window. And yes, they’re the iconic male cardinal with the bright red crest and body and black mask around the face and beak, just like the baseball and football team mascots. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/15 "2013-06-12T05:14:38Z")
There are a number of species in [Arizona](http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/faq/). ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/16 "2013-06-13T01:45:42Z")
I live in south central Texas. ISTM that whenever this area has a wet spring, I see lightning bugs flashing at dusk. Some times at dawn, but rarely. We’ve had a lot of rain this spring, and for the past week or so, I’ve seen lightning bugs flashing at dusk in my neighborhood. I saw one in my front yard last night; but I don’t know which species. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/17 "2013-06-13T02:33:59Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > I live in south central Texas. ISTM that whenever this area has a wet spring, I see lightning bugs flashing at dusk. Some times at dawn, but rarely. > > We’ve had a lot of rain this spring, and for the past week or so, I’ve seen lightning bugs flashing at dusk in my neighborhood. I saw one in my front yard last night; but I don’t know which species. Yep! Real South Texas (near McAllen) as a kid and we would collect those fireflies at dusk and put them in a glass jar. Never got close to an electric light (like we wanted to believe we could). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/18 "2013-06-13T03:46:48Z")
I clearly remember seeing lightning bugs in the summer at my grandmother’s place in northwestern Arkansas and capturing them. Don’t think I ever saw them in West Texas; if I did, I don’t remember. Definitely never saw any in New Mexico or Hawaii. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-lightning-bugs-west-of-miss-river-ul/660776/19 "2013-06-13T04:32:30Z")
Used to see them regularly in Central Louisiana (Winn Parish) when I was a kid. Don’t see them much anymore. ☹