LIGHTNING BUG DELIGHT!

Chasing the elusive lightning beetles in the yard last night... easy to see but hard to capture with my camera in the darkness!

The month of June in Wisconsin where I live holds a special place in my heart at night after the sun has fully set and darkness invades the outdoor world around my cabin.  This time of year brings back memories of the school year ending, my first summertime swim in at Sherwood Lake, running outside barefoot, and gathering up an old fruit jar, a hammer, and a nail, for that neat little thing us country kids had to do a time or two... go catch some lightning bugs!

I would take a hammer and nail and pop some holes in the fruit jar lid and get ready for nightfall to catch my treasures.  The idea was to fill my jar up with a dozen or so lightning bugs and shut the lid, holes in the top allowing proper ventilation, so my little critters wouldn't suffocate.   I'd add some blades of grass in the jar so they'd have something to climb up and down on and not get too bored.  Then I'd sit the jar on the floor next to my bed so I could watch them light up as long as I could stay awake. When morning came, it was time to release the lightning bugs back outside where I found them.  It was a "beginning of summer" ritual, not just for me, but most kids I think... who lived in a world with lightning bugs.

Last night about 9:30 p.m., prime time to see the bugs flashing their magic lanterns, I walked out into the yard and down the driveway, next to the pond, and watched them glow here and there.  I brought my camera and tried to capture the action without much success.  It seemed every time I snapped a photo, they were in their "light's out" mode.  And when I approached them, they seemed to fade in the distance.  Along with lightning bugs, frogs were singing loudly, creating a perfect misty, foggy, muggy June night. 

So what makes a lightning bug glow?  A chemical reaction takes place in the abdomen and tail of the insect.  Something special called luciferin combines with oxygen and other compounds to create the bright glow.  Males light up to attract mates, females flash back at them with their own random patterns and sometimes they even appear to be in sync with one another, creating a spectacular show. 

I call it magic plain and simple!  The amazing show only lasts a few weeks in springtime, but lightning bugs are one of nature's special beetles.  They have the ability to create nostalgic memories for children that last a lifetime.  I know they do for me.  They take me back to simpler ways and simpler days of my Wisconsin country childhood.