![]() I set out to identify species and learn about where and when they appear each year. Since they do not endanger health or jeopardize agriculture, there is little research money for studying them. I worked with those scientists for the next 18 years, and became aware of so many species during that time. Did your role in discovering synchronous fireflies jump-start your research? Females located on the ground respond with a dim single or double flash to the male who catches her fancy, even though many males might see the reply and visit to begin courtship. Then all of the males repeat their flash trains, over and over and all together, for up to three hours. We call it a flash-train, where males in flight flash six times in rapid succession, followed by six seconds of darkness. How would you describe the pattern of the synchronous fireflies found in the Smokies? However, I was certain that we had been watching synchronous displays at Elkmont for years! I contacted the scientists named in the article, who visited our little corner of the Great Smoky Mountains the following summer and confirmed the existence of Photinus carolinus, now North America’s best-known synchronous firefly species. ![]() In 1991, I read an article in Science News that reported there were no synchronous fireflies in the western hemisphere. ![]() ![]() When did you realize that the “Light Show” was something special? ![]()
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