Much unmentioned life along Little Crum Creek moves unseen in the cloak of night.
That partly explains the appeal of fireflies, whose silent lights beside the water draw me raptly to the dark yard through June and July.
This year’s first lights appeared at the end of May as single, unheralded flickers that would reach their numbered peak a month later.
Now, near the end of July, yellow-green lights barely dot the air above the creekside.
But the season’s variety of flashing patterns and colors here has suggested the presence of several different species of lightning bugs along the banks.
Many emit a single light every 3-4 seconds, tracing a yellow “J” low to the ground or dotting the trees high above.
Some flash 3 times, others 12, as they cross the night.
Some light twice per second in the rhythm of a heartbeat.
Others emit a startling, 5-pulse pattern like a strobe.
And a few sail elegantly through space on single horizontal trails of greenish light.
Pinpointing the different species, though, can be tough. And Firefly Watch, out of Boston’s Museum of Science, provides some useful resources to help people try.
For now, I’m just impressed with the simple fact of bioluminescence and the quiet attention it inspires.
So, here, I simply open the camera to share what the fireflies themselves are writing in the night.
Inspired by blogs like Nature Posts and Hawthorne Valley, each of these pictures captures an 8-15 second period of time during which most bugs will flash multiple times while passing through a single frame.
By the photos alone, we might trace the flashing patterns of several individuals.
So I leave you with these primitive shots (whose lights look better when clicked to enlarge), that I too might be quiet again, and return my attention to those silent emblems of all that’s left unseen & unsaid along the creek.
.
July 31, 2012 at 9:04 pm
Scott, just discovered your wonderful blog. Crum creek is my neighbor too. It’s about a hundred yards from my house. I loved the firefly photos. Did you do something special to take them? The middle of July is wonderful for fireflies on our property. Around 8:30 hundreds of them rise from the lawn and hover about two feet above the grass before they move along to the Norway maples. But their initial emergence each evening is truly a magnificent spectacle. I’ve tried a few times to photograph it, but with no success. Your photos were wonderful to see.
July 31, 2012 at 9:36 pm
Hey Nick, glad you found our little window here on Little Crum Creek. Evenings on the lawn under fireflies sounds like a perfect way to spend July. I especially like to hear what’s happening along waters nearby. So thanks for sharing that image.
I have a Canon PowerShot SX130 IS, and I was shooting at dusk and early evening from a tripod. Under the camera’s “Tv” setting (whatever that stands for), I chose a shutter speed between 8-15 seconds long, depending on how much light there was. I also fiddled with brightness settings, just experimenting till something worked. And that’s it. It’s all about the long 8-15 second exposure.
Are the fireflies still flashing? There are just a few here now. I guess we’ll have to try again next year.
July 31, 2012 at 9:51 pm
No, they seemed to have moved on. I stood outside last night and only saw a few. It causes one to wonder where they all go. However, I’ve noticed the cicadas have emerged along with their foil: the cicada wasp. It’s always like a symphony, as one section’s solo ends another begins and takes its place and carry the tune. I’ve also noticed large flocks grackles recently, which seems early to me.
August 1, 2012 at 9:31 am
Yep, we’ve been enjoying the cicada sounds, too. Our grackles aren’t gathered in big (and noisy!) numbers yet. It does seem early for that. But I guess fall is on its way.
July 31, 2012 at 7:44 am
What fun! What fun! Brings back such memories, running around my grandmother’s yard (in Pennsylvania) catching “lightning bugs.” Thanks!
July 31, 2012 at 8:48 pm
Yes, we say “lightning bugs” in this part of PA, too. I decided to use “fireflies” here because I was already using the word “light” so much! How were they up your way this year?
July 29, 2012 at 11:24 pm
Magical!
July 31, 2012 at 9:11 pm
I know … and they’re totally real … all over the place! What a world.
July 26, 2012 at 4:27 pm
Well-done, Scott!
July 27, 2012 at 8:24 am
Thank you, Tracy. It was fun!
July 26, 2012 at 2:23 pm
I guess after reading your post and seeing your photos I am going to have to take a closer look at my fireflies in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in SC. Great blog with fantastic photos. I like your style of writing.
July 27, 2012 at 8:23 am
Thank you, Fay. It’ll be time well spent, I’m sure!
July 24, 2012 at 11:55 pm
Amazing! What a unique peek at fireflies. I had no idea there were light variations, but I am not surprised when I see the detail our Creator put into everything.
July 26, 2012 at 1:46 pm
What a variety of signs we have for communication ordered to communion.
But I also learned fireflies can use signals another way. Certain females will mimic another species’s flash pattern to lure in an unsuspecting male and devour him!
July 24, 2012 at 10:13 am
Great post. I didn’t realize there were different types of lightening bugs… duh. (: Their beauty is so amazing here in June- I feel like I spend a lot of time dedicated to gazing at the display. Next year I’m going to get out my tripod and get some pictures. I always forget I even have a tripod.
July 26, 2012 at 1:29 pm
Thanks, Melissa. I just rummaged a tripod & secured the camera on top with rubber bands. It’s such a different way of doing pictures, pressing a button and hoping bugs flash in front the lens. Can’t wait to see what you do with them next year. Fireflies flash for such a short time that it just feels wrong to do anything but watch & celebrate, don’t you think?
July 24, 2012 at 9:25 am
Thanks for an evening of firefly watching. Our numbers here have been almost none. The one specie that always fascinated me was the one that flew fast to the north in a straight line. Did they circle back around? How would the female get the male’s attention?
July 26, 2012 at 1:13 pm
I wonder. Here each female seems surrounded by suitors. No problem if one jets north. Of course, maybe “hard to get” is part of his strategy.
July 26, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Never thought of the “hard to get” strategy. I watched one, years ago, that held its light on as he slowly spiraled down. Never seen the pattern again.
July 26, 2012 at 1:33 pm
There’s an interesting squiggly in the 11th picture up above. But it would be incredible to see long-lit spirals settling down.
July 26, 2012 at 3:04 pm
I don’t understand why our numbers are so low this year. Other insect numbers are unusually low too. It makes me wonder how the numbers would/could rebound next year.
July 24, 2012 at 7:55 am
If you had posted these photos with no text would I have known these were fireflies and not shooting stars? That’s what I asked myself as I looked at your pictures. Great idea!
July 24, 2012 at 5:57 pm
Thanks, Allen. I did almost post without words. But I figured those long exposures needed explanation. Now, if only we had a meteor shower …!
July 24, 2012 at 7:29 am
Love fireflies and love this post!
July 24, 2012 at 5:52 pm
Me too, Monica. Any good spots for them in NYC, Central Park maybe?
July 25, 2012 at 6:01 pm
Yup, plenty of fireflies in Central Park! Somehow it’s always surprising to see them there.
July 23, 2012 at 9:59 pm
The blog site links didn’t print…. I find I have to write it like this… nameof the site (dot) wordpress (dot) com…. then instruct people to just close in the spaces and change the )dot) to periods.
July 24, 2012 at 11:58 am
Sorry for the trouble … are you referring to my post’s links to “Firefly Watch,” “Nature Posts,” and “Hawthorne Valley”? If so, simply clicking on each blog’s name should take you to the respective website.
July 24, 2012 at 3:54 pm
Yes, I finallly did that… thanks.
July 23, 2012 at 9:56 pm
What a great post! 🙂 Many thanks.
July 24, 2012 at 5:58 pm
It was a lot of fun. Thanks for joining me!
July 23, 2012 at 9:23 pm
Now why didn’t I think of trying my camera…duh…and I am not seeing many at all now..have to wait till next year when I count again..Michelle
July 24, 2012 at 5:39 pm
I might try counting next year. How did it go? Seems pretty tough to determine the species, let alone the number.
July 24, 2012 at 10:29 pm
Scott..I had vision problems with my eyes for the month of June and could not see well enough to count..it is difficult and the number of flashes is the hardest although I have only seen a orange flash different from the yellow green a couple of time…I hope to do a better job next year…Michelle
July 23, 2012 at 8:43 pm
The photos are really cool but your text is truly enchanting. I love this post.
July 24, 2012 at 12:02 pm
Thanks, Lesley. That’s nice to hear. Enchanted is precisely how things seem among fireflies.
July 23, 2012 at 8:10 pm
You finally captured the fireflies on camera. Beautiful!
July 24, 2012 at 11:28 am
Yeah, I finally found how to take a long exposure with this camera. Just in the nick of time too. What’s it been, a year or two since we discussed it? Sure beats running around in the dark attempting snapshots of single fireflies! Thanks, Em.
Did you see any out there this summer?
July 23, 2012 at 8:00 pm
[…] this Japanese web site. For more nice firefly photos from closer to home see these blog postingsat some little crum creek and Nature […]
July 24, 2012 at 11:18 am
Cool. If anyone likes my lightning bugs, be sure to check out some truly terrific photos on this “Firefly Fotos” post from Hawthorne Valley (same one linked in the text of my post).
July 23, 2012 at 7:19 pm
An unusual and interesting post from a unique perspective!
July 24, 2012 at 11:20 am
Thanks, Jo Ann. Unique is the excuse I use for posting so many pictures. After all, there are many firefly photos out there, but these are the only ones (that I know of) from Little Crum Creek!