A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
Note: Once again life is happening faster than the blogging thereof. I’m still trying to play catch up from the last couple of weeks before I do anything else interesting.
As we were getting ready to leave Florida I got an e-mail from our friend Joyce McCarrell saying that it was once again time for the Blue Ghost fireflies. These elusive insects are only active for a limited time in the spring, and only appear in very limited areas. Of course we were going to try to make it back in time.
Wednesday evening is normally our night to watch Ghost Hunters. This evening, however, we decided to hunt for our own ghosts. Specifically, we were after the elusive Blue Ghost Firefly, Phausis reticulata.
Blue ghost fireflies only glow during mating season, and are only found in isolated areas in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Both the males and females give off a constant bluish glow, unlike the fireflies in our area, which pulse on a regular basis. The males hover about head-height off of the forest floor, while the pale, wingless females glow along the bottom of the forest. The effect is mesmerizing, as these bluish orbs float through the woods.
The fireflies have a very limited range. They are found in undisturbed forested areas, often in the Smokey Mountains and in Dupont State Forest in North Carolina.