An Ode to the Firefly

The other night, Mark said I should blog about fireflies.  Fireflies?! Who wants to read about fireflies?

And then I realized that people desperately want to read about anything as long as it's not politics. So why not fireflies?

And he's right about the fireflies. For whatever reason, it's a particularly awesome year for them. The other night, after dinner at our friends' house, they gave us toothpicks to prop open our eyelids so that we might stay awake for a post-dinner, post-sunset walk through Trendwood Park.

By the time we got to the lower areas of the park, it was like we'd walked into a regional speed-dating event.  Seemingly thousands of randy male fireflies lit up the space, each trying to outdo the others with his pulsing behind.

Apparently, Trendwood Park is the place to be a firefly this year.

But our neighbor's yard is a close second.

I don't know if the Schwabs even realize their corner plot is an international airport for all things that fly and glow.  But I'm pretty sure they are curious as to why Mark and I keep standing on their sidewalk each evening, staring ga-ga eyed across their well-coifed lawn.   True, their lawn is impeccable.  But it's those fireflies that are calling us.

That beautiful photo above?  I took that last summer while attending a Firefly Count behind Sheridan Lutheran Church (A firefly event?  I'm guessing they're not Missouri Synod. . . ).  Before pretending we could count and identify the oodles of fireflies that live among the church's wetlands, we learned a bit about the insects.

Some intriguing facts:
•There are 2,000 species of fireflies, all of which are, in fact, beetles, not flies.
•The females usually watch the evening floor show from the ground, while the males of each species put on a light show specific to that species.
•One species, in the Great Smokies, is synchronous, meaning they pulse in unison, kind of like a when a household of women all have their. . . , oh, never mind.
Here's a video of them in action (the fireflies, that is): FIREFLIES IN THE SMOKIES
•Femme fatales from one species imitate the pulse of other species, luring in a hapless male from time to time in order to eat him.  Otherwise, scientists don't really know if adult fireflies eat much.
•Fireflies are bioluminescent from the egg on up.

Bottom line (because, when it comes to fireflies, it's always about the bottom)?  Fireflies make life better.  Way better, some days.  Don't believe me?  Look on Facebook during the evenings in early June.  People can't wait to share that they've seen the first firefly of the season.  Post something and you'll get a dozen happy responses. . . shared experiences, people longing to see one themselves, folks relishing this lovely symbol of summer.

Whatever our age, we all celebrate the arrival of these gentle companions that lope trustingly in the air, often resting on a fingertip along the way.  They are magical in the truest sense of the word--nudging the curious child from each of us, as we hold our collective breath and wait, transformed.