Summer Fun : Fireflies in Oregon? (live, design, things to do)

[haggardhouseelf]

When I was a kid growing up in Texas, one of my favorite things to do on a warm summer night was to watch for the fireflies to come out as soon as it got dark enough to see them blinking their little magical lighted butts. As a kid, I didn't know that the blinking was their version of Marvin Gaye's song, "Let's Get It On". I thought they were blinking so they could see where they were going in the dark!

Anyway - I have not seen fireflies since we left Texas years ago. Are there fireflies in Oregon? Where can you watch for them? I miss them.

[PNW-type-gal]

Nope - Texas is as far west as you usually see them. Generally the Rocky Mountains are considered the divide.

There are supposed to be glowworms (a larvae of some sort) but I've never actually seen one.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by haggardhouseelf

When I was a kid growing up in Texas, one of my favorite things to do on a warm summer night was to watch for the fireflies to come out as soon as it got dark enough to see them blinking their little magical lighted butts. As a kid, I didn't know that the blinking was their version of Marvin Gaye's song, "Let's Get It On". I thought they were blinking so they could see where they were going in the dark!

Anyway - I have not seen fireflies since we left Texas years ago. Are there fireflies in Oregon? Where can you watch for them? I miss them.

Nope, they don't live here. I used to see them when I lived in Chicago.
I was happy to see them last summer when I was visiting friends in Cleveland. I was so nostalgic when I saw my first one "light up" in the evening.

[Hawk J]

Oregon doesn't have 'fireflies'. I used to seeum in Fort Jackson, South carolina, by the swamp pond ... & i think i did in Fort Riley, Kansas.

Oregon has some beautiful 'shooting star's', i seeum at nite when i'm catchin crawdads in the very dark boonies, & while catfishin'. I can see billions of star's (clouds of stars)

[hamellr]

We have a firefly like insect, but it's incredibly rare. I've only seen two or three in thirty years of outdoorsing. Those were close to the coast if I remember right, and during full summer.

I've seen glow worms a couple of times too, but again pretty rare. You'll probably have a better chance of seeing Bigfoot!

[wanderbygrace]

Aww, that's gonna be sad for my boys. They love catching "lightning butts" in the summer here in Ohio. Oh well....guess we'll just have to settle for views of Mt. Hood instead.

Haven't seen any fireflies yet this year, but it's still early. That, plus we seem to be getting a daily monsoon (my yard might soon be designated a wetland), which doesn't encourage them to come out much...haha.

[kapetrich]

Originally Posted by wanderbygrace

Aww, that's gonna be sad for my boys. They love catching "lightning butts" in the summer here in Ohio. Oh well....guess we'll just have to settle for views of Mt. Hood instead.

Haven't seen any fireflies yet this year, but it's still early. That, plus we seem to be getting a daily monsoon (my yard might soon be designated a wetland), which doesn't encourage them to come out much...haha.

Yeah, it is early, but there are definitely less fireflies than there were when I was a kid (late 80's/early 90's). I remember walking outside as a kid, taking a jar and swiping it in the air getting 10-15 every swipe. I used to think if I got 1,000 alive I could sell em' to Johns Hopkins for research. (that's an old wives tale in the Baltimore area).

Now-a-days they seem to be MUCH less abundant.

Possible reasons for their decline: Why Are Fireflies Disappearing? Information on the Decline of Fireflies - Firefly.org

[PNW-type-gal]

We moved around quite a bit when I was a kid, and I was probably 7 or so when I first lived in an area with fireflies. The first time I ran around with a glass jar catching them was very exciting, but what I chiefly remember is the let-down the next morning when they were all dead in the bottom of the jar. A nice lesson in the beautiful yet transitory nature of things and the difference between enjoying watching something and trying to keep it for yourself.

Also, I edited a novel, written by a woman from the south, which was supposed to be set in Seattle and fireflies formed a fairly large part of the narrative. She was not pleased to know that fireflies (at least the ones that actually glow) are an extremely rare occurrence in Seattle.

[wanderbygrace]

Originally Posted by kapetrich

Yeah, it is early, but there are definitely less fireflies than there were when I was a kid (late 80's/early 90's). I remember walking outside as a kid, taking a jar and swiping it in the air getting 10-15 every swipe. I used to think if I got 1,000 alive I could sell em' to Johns Hopkins for research. (that's an old wives tale in the Baltimore area).

Now-a-days they seem to be MUCH less abundant.

Possible reasons for their decline: Why Are Fireflies Disappearing? Information on the Decline of Fireflies - Firefly.org

I agree there are less than when I was a kid, as well. Although, I don't recall there being quite as many as you thought.

[kapetrich]

Originally Posted by wanderbygrace

I agree there are less than when I was a kid, as well. Although, I don't recall there being quite as many as you thought.

I'm sure. I was a kid, everything was bigger then.....