

Although they are attracted to rain and humid weather, if it’s pouring hard you’re less likely to see them flying around at night. Synchronous group light displays are typically only noticeable 5 to 10 nights each year and the exact time varies depending on the weather. Some species will flash their light for only 20 minutes right at dusk, while other species will flash multiple hours per night.įor the nighttime callers, between 9 pm and 10 pm are common times to see them flying around in groups or some species are most active between midnight and 3 am. The best time to see the dazzling light show of fireflies is at dusk or nighttime. What time of night do lightning bugs come out? In contrast, drought conditions and heatwaves stress the eggs and larvae, causing a delay in their appearance. Wet springs also mean more slugs, snails, and pill bugs for the larvae to feed and mature into adulthood faster. Lightning bugs love warm, humid weather, so mild winters and early summers can trick them into thinking it’s later in the season and emerge in late spring. However, the exact dates will vary each year depending on factors such as air temperature and rainfall amount. These flashy beetles live as larvae underground during the winter and mature during the spring before emerging. They’ll typically disappear in early August.

Lightning bugs come out during the early summer, from the 3rd week in May to the 3rd week in June. To help you increase your chances of seeing these flying beetles, below is information on when lightning bugs come out as well as interesting facts about them.

Although always fun to watch, their fascinating light display can only be seen at specific locations and times of the day or year. They use this bioluminescence to catch prey and attract mates. 157-167., doi:10.Fireflies, or lightning bugs, are soft-bodied beetles known for lighting up during dark summer nights. “ A Global Perspective on Firefly Extinction Threats.” BioScience, vol. “ The External Larval Morphology of Aquatic and Terrestrial Luciolinae Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae).” Zootaxa, vol. “ Fireflies Thwart Bat Attack with Multisensory Warnings.” Sci Adv, vol. “ Bat (Chiroptera) Connections with Firefly (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) Luminescence, I: Potential Significance, Historical Evidence, and Opportunity.” The Coleopterists Bulletin, vol. “ Photinus pyralis.” University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. “ Synchronous Fireflies.” National Park Service. “ Flash Signal Evolution, Mate Choice, and Predation in Fireflies.” Annu Rev Entomol, vol. “ Bioluminescence in California.” California Center for Natural History. “ Fireflies.” The National Wildlife Federation. “ Color-Tuning Mechanism of Firefly Investigated by Multi-Configurational Perturbation Method.” J Am Chem Soc, vol.

“ Fireflies: Control of Flashing.” Encyclopedia of Entomology, edited by John L. “ Biosynthesis of Firefly Luciferin in Adult Lantern: Decarboxylation of ʟ-cysteine Is a Key Step for Benzothiazole Ring Formation in Firefly Luciferin Synthesis.” PLoS ONE, vol.
