Fireflies aka Lightning Bugs, Make A Michigan Comeback

Suppose you haven't noticed recently around your yard. Fireflies have made a comeback this year to the delight of many.

Michigan is seeing more fireflies than usual this year, thanks to an early spring followed by drought-like conditions.

Many a Summer's night with a Mason jar I would be running around my grandparent's yard trying to capture just one.

The lightning bug explosion could result from drought-like weather followed by warmer Spring. The next time you step outside around dusk, there will be a light show in your backyard.

The best time to see fireflies is about 10-15 minutes after dusk, so if it gets dark around 9 pm. My recommendation is to go outside at about 8:30 p.m. 

 Both refer to the same family of insects, though we've also heard them called firebugs, candleflies, or lamp bugs. I guess the only way to answer is where you are watching them.

Southerners and Midwesterners will say flying beetles are "lightning bugs." Head further out West, past the desert roads of West Texas, and more folks call them "fireflies." Northeast, Texas, and Florida call them by both terms. Southerners are decidedly Team Lightning Bug.

Fireflies produce light in special organs in their abdomens. They control their flashing by regulating how much oxygen goes to their light-producing organs.

Each firefly species has its own signaling system. Around Michigan, the males flash a signal unique to their kind. The females sit on the ground or in vegetation, watching for males.

When a female sees one making her species’ signal – and doing it well – she flashes back her own. What they do next is pure love and romance. Get the picture?

There is much yet to learn about fireflies. Scientists have identified about 170 or so species in North America. So enjoy the show in your neighborhood. Maybe get a glow stick and join the party?

Billy Sheehan is known for playing incredible bass guitar for Mr.Big and David Lee Roth's band's solo albums Eat Em And Smile and Skyscraper.