Every year between late May and mid-June, synchronous fireflies gather into a sparkling, rhythmic light show in the forests of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As part of their two-week mating display, the female lightning bugs synchronize their flashes with nearby males so that every few seconds waves of light ripple through the woods. Of at least 19 species of fireflies that live in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Photinus carolinus is the only species with synchronous light displays, but they can also be found in Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania and Congaree National Park in South Carolina. Other species of synchronous fireflies are particularly prevalent in Southeast Asia.
By the light of the fireflies
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Ready for takeoff
-
Great horned owl fledglings
-
Summer Olympics begin in Paris
-
National Cherry Blossom Festival
-
Happy New Year!
-
Let s get lost
-
In the Garden of Europe
-
Honoring the first American woman in space
-
Swimming into the season
-
Valentines Day
-
Southern right whales sail home to South Africa
-
A dreamy start to the Year of the Pig
-
Tigh Mor Trossachs on Loch Achray, Scotland
-
Great Fountain Geyser, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
-
Islands that turned the tide
-
Anshun Bridge, Chengdu, China
-
International Jazz Day
-
Sanday Island and the North Sea, Scotland
-
World Oceans Day
-
Northern coast of Colombia
-
Castle Stalker, Argyll, Scotland
-
World Water Day
-
Fog above the forest
-
Polar Bear Week
-
National Bison Day
-
Happy Pi Day!
-
A crush in Lavaux
-
Death Valley National Park, California
-
Did they forget to fly south?
-
The Rainbow Houses of Houten, Netherlands