I’ve noticed it for the past three or four nights in my back yard.
Maybe you have too.
It’s all those lightning bugs that are out this year!
Way more than I’ve ever seen (and I used to live in the boonies in eastern Tennessee).
My wife even commented on it the other evening.
Wait until around 9 o’clock tonight and see how many you see.
So me being paid to ask questions I had to know why there are seemingly more lightning bugs this year than ever before.
I called the manager at Virginia Tech entomology identification lab (that means bug lab), Eric Day.
Day is an old contact of mine and never makes me feel uncomfortable when I ask him stupid questions.
Day said something that shocked me—- those lightning bugs—- those cute, seemingly peaceful creatures—- are actually *predators* in the bug world.
They feed on smaller insects that live in our lawns or grasses.
Day said, best he could figure, we have more of a population of those little bugs this year which means the lightning bugs have more to eat.
Think of your backyard as The Great 611 Steakhouse (one of my faves here in Roanoke) for lightning bugs.
I’ll be watching the show again tonight.
It’s pretty amazing.
Posted by Scott Leamon at 06:12 PM. Filed under: leamon •
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