Our good friend and naturalist Robert Carter sent us an invitation we couldn’t resist invitation – to see the lightning bugs, AKA fireflies, in a dark area of Winthrop University’s campus. Carter and Paula Mitchell, Winthrop entomologist, had just discovered this flashing group of what they believe are varied Photuris species on the edge of a swampy habitat. These male lighting bugs did not flash synchronously or at a restricted height off the ground. Instead, it was like Christmas tree lights randomly twinkling from a few feet to thirty feet up in the trees. They started about an hour after dark and Carter told us they continue the entire night. It was a magical experience. Once you discover the natural phenomena of our diverse state ecosystems, your world gets wider and wider without leaving home.
The beauty of 'lightening bugs'
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio