First in a multi-part series appearing throughout the year about the creatures, plants and people in and around the Cacapon River. For this article, I sat down with Krista Noe and Jake Goldner at the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources office in Elkins, W. Va.
A walk along the Cacapon River on a summer evening often includes an amazing little light show. Across the fields, up in the trees and beside the stream banks, the sporadic flashes of fireflies bring joy. Male fireflies flash their little lanterns in the dark not to entertain the hiker, but to attract females. It’s magical.
Surprisingly, there is not just one kind of firefly. The Spring Treetop Flasher, Dot Dashers, Creekside Tree Blinker, Slow Glows and Yellow-Bellied Firefly are just a few of the fireflies found in the 680-square-mile Cacapon River watershed. And then there is the riverside species Heebie-Jeebies.
“To be a firefly you need to glow sometime in your life,” explained Krista Noe, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) Natural Heritage Vegetation Ecologist and firefly specialist. “When you see adult fireflies flashing, they have one thing on their mind and that is to mate.”
West Virginia has at least 29 different species of fireflies or lighting bugs.
“They are not really bugs or flies,” explained Jake Goldner, WVDNR Conservation Entomologist. “They are beetles.” Beetles differ from other flying insects because their front wings are hard covers and the back wings are used for flying.
“Fireflies have some fun common names. The Yellow-Bellied Firefly is sometimes called the Pinkie-Winkie or Low Pink Winker,” Krista laughed. “And the Christmas Lights Firefly is fun.” Most adult fireflies find each other by their special flash pattern of a yellow, green or orange glow. In W. Va, most fireflies are adults only for 2 or 3 weeks.
“Their large eyes help them to see the light patterns of a potential mate,” Krista detailed. “Their heads are mostly eyeballs.” All the better to see the summer night spectacular.
“The flash pattern is important, they don’t want to call over the wrong species,” Krista said. “Most adult fireflies display their flash patterns starting around dusk.” Depending on the species, flashing continues for 20 or 30 minutes to a couple of hours. Mating begins when the flash carries the right rhythm.
Entomologists use the flash patterns to identify the species out in the field. Nature lovers can learn to identify fireflies by viewing https://westvirginiafirefl.wixsite.com/westvirginiafireflie/about.
Five years ago, WVDNR started documenting which fireflies live in W. Va. They found that the Cacapon River watershed is home to a very special lighting bug, the Potomac Firefly.
“We first found them in 2022,” Krista stated. “It’s not that they weren’t here before, we think nobody was looking for them.” The Potomac Firefly prefers habitats with cobblestone river shorelines with lots of saplings and driftwood. Once WVDNR knew the habitat of these fireflies, they found them along the Potomac, Cacapon and South Rivers.
Although there is excitement of rediscovering firefly species, there is concern that fireflies are disappearing.
“We have people saying they saw more fireflies when they were younger, right now we just have stories,” Jake explained. “It seems likely their numbers are declining, but we don’t have data.” To get that data, WVDNR started documenting which species are in W. Va. The firefly monitoring program established set locations to be visited year after year, noting the species that are there and how many.
There are threats to the fireflies.
“There could be a lot of reasons for their likely decline,” Krista noted. “Light pollution is a big issue.” Firefly eyes are extremely sensitive to light so they can see the flashy light patterns of a future mate. Bright outdoor lights make it difficult for males and females to connect, reducing firefly reproduction.
“We don’t need lights to go up into the sky at night,” Jake said. “Point outdoor lights down, use timers or motion sensor and unplug string lights around your patio when you go in at night.” Reducing light pollution helps the fireflies as well as migratory birds, bats and pollinators.
“Keeping part of your property wild or planting native plants will help young fireflies survive,” Krista explained. “Fireflies spend most of their life as larvae (immature beetles) feeding on snails or small bugs in the leaf litter, in the grasses or under logs – basically on the ground.” Firefly larvae often go unseen, so the use of pesticides to control other pests can impact the young firefly survival.
“In the summer you can mow your grass less often, restrict the use of pesticides and set aside part of the yard to remain natural,” encouraged Krista. “The biggest thing you can do is limit the use of outdoor lighting.”
As dusk falls and the fireflies flash, another cycle of life as nature’s entertainment is underway. Turn out the porch light and give us the Heebie-Jeebies.
Peter Wood is a board member of the Friends of the Cacapon River, whose mission is to preserve, protect, and promote the environmental health and scenic character of the Cacapon River and its watershed.
