The Discovery of the Synchronous FirefliesĪs a UNESCO International Biosphere Reserve, Grandfather Mountain has long been known for its natural wonders and as a haven for more than 70 rare or endangered species. And sometimes, if it rains right before it gets dark and then stops, it will make the flashing activity stronger. If the wind is too strong, they won’t fly. If the nightly temperatures are too cold, they won’t flash as much. How active the fireflies are can be impacted by current weather conditions. What weather conditions could impact firefly activity during the events? Luckily, our prediction model has been tested in several different locations and we are confident in it. Nature is on its own schedule, and even when things line up the way we THINK they should, we may miss it. We can’t measure (nor do we exactly know) all of the factors that go into firefly emergence, so we use all the resources we can to the best of our abilities. We do the very best that we can to be as accurate as possible in predicting the firefly mating period, but like anything in nature – nature is going to do what nature does. How confident are we in our event dates? Can we ever really predict a natural phenomenon like this? By doing yearly weather monitoring and on-the-ground monitoring during the firefly seasons, we start to get a better picture of what different trends look like at our location. 1 each year and continue to monitor until the firefly activity has ended. Is GMSF conservation and education staff monitoring conditions all year long or is it for a certain time period? In order to provide the best experience for our participants, we want to be as accurate as possible. If you were to ask your local meteorologist to predict the weather conditions for three specific dates a month and a half out, they will not likely give you a very confident answer. These three extra weeks give us a better snapshot of what our weather a month out will look like. It is extremely hard to predict what the weather conditions will be months in advance. What benefits are we hoping this brings our guests?īy pushing back the announcement of the dates of the events, we are trying to get a more accurate prediction of when the peak mating time of the synchronous fireflies will be. This year we are announcing event dates three weeks later than we announced them last year. There is a formula that is widely accepted in the scientific community that is used to predict when the synchronous fireflies will emerge and begin mating. The main thing that we monitor is the air temperature. There are many abiotic factors that play into when fireflies emerge from the forest floor – things such as soil temperature and moisture, rainfall, ambient air temperature, etc. How do you predict the dates of the event? What conditions are you monitoring to predict the “peak” time to see fireflies at the mountain? The most common species seen during the Grandfather Glows event are the synchronous fireflies (Photinus carolinus), blue ghost fireflies (Phausis reticulata), variable triple flash fireflies (Photuris versicolor) and glowworms (Orfelia fultoni). We have confirmed 10 different species of fireflies on Grandfather Mountain ( read more). What bioluminescent insects can potentially be seen at Grandfather during the event? The best time to observe fireflies is when they are at the peak of their mating period. Adult fireflies only live for a couple weeks, and their sole focus is to mate and lay eggs for the next generation of fireflies. Depending on the species, the firefly larvae may stay in the leaf litter for a couple of years until they mature and metamorphose into adults. What occurs during Grandfather Glows? Why is that THE time to observe the fireflies?Įach year, different species of fireflies emerge from the forest floor in order to find mates. Here’s a look into the process of trying to predict this natural phenomenon with Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation Director of Conservation and Education John Caveny.
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