Synchronous Fireflies: One New Thing I saw in the Smokies

Something new I experienced this year in the Smoky Mountains was the synchronous fireflies in Elkmont. For 36 years I have come to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I have seen fireflies, or lightening bugs. I have seen the glowworms and foxfire. But I never thought I would make it over to Elkmont for the big show.

Every year at the end of May/early June, the fireflies will light up the forest in a brilliant display of their mating ritual. The lights synchronously twinkling in the forest can be best described as seeing thousands of sparkling Christmas lights. It was magnificent!

This glowy beetle show has become so popular, the park now runs a lottery system for visitors. Luckily, the fireflies were still impressing us after the lottery had ended. I went with a worker from the park. She took me up Jakes Creek Trail along with many other visitors. We hiked until we were alone and waited for the darkness.

The show was stunning and I would recommend it to all. It was also fun walking around in the dark, amazed at how well my night vision worked. Unfortunately when we hiked back down to the crowds, the flashlights ruined all night vision.

Although there were a few people taking professional photographs, I think the best images are left in my mind. Still, I wanted something tangible, so I painted what I remembered.

I wanted more than just random dots on a canvas. I decided to add the forest, giving it a twilight feel. I wanted the fireflies to lead the viewers eye through the trees, down the path, and to the focal point of the brightest concentration. I learned that the fireflies do not go more than a few feet from the ground. If they look higher, it is just the elevation gain throughout the forest. I wanted to capture this, so I kept them low in the painting.

After the painting dried I added citrine and clear quartz crystals to really make the fireflies sparkle. I framed it and plan to gift it to the woman who took me into the forest for the magical firefly lit night.