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With bombastic Fourth of July over, perhaps a more muted
fireworks display would be in order. A dark night and a small edge or clearing
can produce a dazzling light display as fireflies dancing to nature's "procreation
waltz" light up the night.
These interesting insects really aren't flies at all, but rather beetles from
the family Lampyridae. Lampyridae is of Greek origin and is from the same root
which gave us the word lamp. These luminescent beetles are the very envy of
physicists around the world, because of their ability to produce "cold light".
Light production in these creatures is very complex, and still not completely
understood.
Because of their absence from the Near East, there is no reference to fireflies
in the Bible, Koran or Talmud.
When Lucifer came into play in 1855, French physiologist Raphel Dubois named
the two substances which combine to produce the lighting bug's glow, luciferin
and luciferase, after the Prince of Darkness.
The luciferin-luciferase system requires the catalyst, adenosine triphosphate
(ATP). ATP provides the energy for muscle contraction in animals. In fireflies,
it energizes the luciferin-luciferase interaction. The mechanics of this process
are not fully understood, but scientists believe that the nervous system stimulates
ATP.
It is evident that the firefly has control over its flashing and that different
stimuli produce different flashes. It is believed that the primary function
of the flashes is to identify potential mates. It appears that each species
has it's own flash pattern. There is, though, a species of the genus Photuris
which mimics different species of the genus Photinus in order to attract and
prey on them.
The other evening, as I lay in bed watching this organic light show, I noticed
what I perceived to be a response to an outside stimulus. A thunderstorm in
the distance produced flashes of lightening that appeared to excite the fireflies,
and produce a nearly synchronous response. These flashes were so bright, they
sparked a dim bulb in the back of my brain. I remembered receiving a missive
and a short news article about synchronous fireflies in the Smokies.
Synchronization in fireflies is not a new phenomenon. Asia is renowned for
it's "firefly trees," where the insects congregate by the thousands and flash
on and off like Christmas lights. Until recently, scientists believed there
were no synchronous fireflies in the U.S. According to an Associated Press article
from June 1994, however, this may not be the case. Ethnologist John Copeland
of Georgia Southern University has identified a North American species (Photinus
carolinus) that appears to be synchronous.
Photinus carolinus is found in the Smokies, along the Tennessee-North Carolina
border. The synchronization of this species isn't as precise as the Asian species,
but according to the article, Copeland has no doubts about the synchronicity.
Synchronous or not, a night sky full of lightening bugs is a delight to watch.
Take the kids along; they may get the idea that nature is cool.
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