Synchronous Fireflies in the Smoky Mountains
There's something magical about a blinking bug. The firefly has been a part of many childhoods, a dusk-to-dark distraction for little ones who hop about, filling mason jars to make twinkling lanterns. The Smoky Mountains are fortunate to have 14 species of fireflies, including the only species in the United States that can "synchronize their flashing light patterns." No one knows why these flies synchronize but the effect is otherworldly. For the observer, it looks something like this: "One moment, the forested slope above the clearing would be dark - cavernously dark. Then, suddenly, a few flashes would appear off to the right, and like a fuse, they seemed to set off a chain reaction. In a diffuse and unruly wave, thousands of flashes would appear from right to left across the field of vision, lighting up the entire forest in an eerie green light. It was as if the world’s largest chain of blinking Christmas lights had been turned on and then was suddenly unplugged again. The forest would return to that deep, cavernous dark for a few seconds… then… a few flashes occurred off to the right and the cycle would repeat itself."
Photo by jamelah.
It's such a beautiful sight that the two mid-June weeks of firefly synchrony have become a busy Smoky Mountain attraction. As one of only two places in the world where such a spectacle can be seen (the other is in Southeast Asia), the event draws around 2,000 people each weekend night to the site near Elkmont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Folks spread their blankets and open lawn chairs, maybe pic-nic a bit while the kids squirm in excitement for the start of the show. Then it does and even the little ones are transfixed. Writes Matt Wasson: "As the blue twilight faded toward darkness and dozens of blinking lights became hundreds – and then thousands - the din of conversation gradually faded into a quiet undercurrent of whispers and gasps of wonder." Just one more reason to love East Tennessee.
