Rare fireflies that flash in unison found on Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina
Grandfather Mountain is now home to a flashy tourist attraction: fireflies that light up in unison.
These “synchronous” bugs are the only species of fireflies in North America able to flash their lights in unison, according to the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation.
And they’re only found in a handful of places around the country, including Congaree National Park in South Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, The State newspaper has reported.
The fireflies have become such a popular sight in the Great Smoky Mountains that visitors who want to see them have to enter a lottery for tickets.
But now these fireflies can also be seen lighting up the sky above western North Carolina’s Grandfather Mountain in Avery County.
Dr. Clyde Sorenson, an entomologist at N.C. State University, discovered the fireflies while he was spending the night at the park’s guest cottage for a workshop he was hosting, the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation said in a release.
Sorenson wanted to know what kind of fireflies might be that high up — the mountain reaches 6,000 feet. And when he saw a few flashing that night, he “knew right away that it was something special,” the foundation said.
“As it got dark, the numbers steadily went up, and between 10 and 10:30 p.m., there were several hundred all around the guest cottage and Woods Walk, flashing synchronously,” Sorenson said in a statement.
Hundreds of these male fireflies will flash their lights in unison as a ritual during mating season, which lasts for two to four weeks in May and June, The News & Observer has reported.
There are 2,000 different species of fireflies, and each has a unique flash pattern that helps males and females recognize each other, according to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Service.
But no one is sure why this particular kind of firefly flashes in unison.
“Competition between males may be one reason: they all want to be the first to flash,” the park service says. “Or perhaps if the males all flash together they have a better chance of being noticed, and the females can make better comparisons.”
Although Grandfather Mountain visitors won’t be able to see the critters in action for another eight months or so, the park staff is already starting to organize events.
“This goes hand in hand with Grandfather Mountain’s mission — to inspire conservation of the natural world by helping guests explore, understand and value the wonders of Grandfather Mountain,” Jesse Pope, president and executive director of the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, said in the release. “I’m beyond excited about this new discovery. And that’s something that makes Grandfather Mountain so special, that a visitor could do the discovering.”
This story was originally published August 29, 2019 at 2:03 PM.
