Note: Because official trails around Boulder County are crowded and many hikers are ignoring social distancing and mask wearing, we are temporarily changing our trail descriptions to general descriptions of natural areas conducive to nature walking.
Fireflies in high, dry Colorado? Most folk scoff at the idea. However, fireflies (beetles in the Lampyrid family) light up a midsummer night in humid meadows throughout Boulder County from mid-June to early July.
Walk along the edges of wetlands starting around 9 p.m., and you’ll be rewarded by a light show rivaling the Fourth of July fireworks. Wear bug repellent so you don’t sacrifice too much blood to mosquitoes that are out whining and dining at this hour.
Each firefly species produces its own unique signal — distinctive in color, arc shape, and timing — while cruising for a mate. The warmer the evening, the more rapid the signaling. Males fly several feet off the ground flashing a yellow-green light at regular intervals, while females perch in the grass, flashing a response with different timing.
Each continues blinking until they find each other. Some Photuris females have learned to mimic the flashes of other species, often luring hapless suitors to a fatal dinner date.
Ted Floyd, author of How to Know the Birds and editor of Birding magazine, and his son Andrew stopped at Boulder Reservoir in early June to listen to night sounds.
Posting to Cobirds (online birding website), Ted described the spectacle: “The frogs and toads were awesome, but the real show-stoppers were the fireflies … like the Milky Way come down to Earth.”
When a motorist stopped to inquire what they were doing, Ted explained and added that you have to turn your headlights off to see the fireflies. The driver said, “Well, that’s the dumbest thing, how can you see anything in the dark?”
“Hooooookay,” wrote Ted. “Anyhow, the fireflies just west of Boulder Rez are glorious, they’re there for anybody to see and, yes, I assure you, you need to
turn off your lights to see them.”
Entomologist Mike Weissmann says that while fireflies appear to be declining in the East mainly due to habitat loss, they are increasing in the west:
“We’ve added water to the prairie … and have allowed gallery forests of cottonwood, willow, and introduced trees to thrive along the riparian zones …This is creating micro-habitats that are favorable to fireflies.”
In addition to Boulder Rez, firefly haunts in Boulder County include Twin Lakes and Eaton Park where Nautilus Drive dead-ends, the wet meadows at Cherryvale Trailhead south of South Boulder Road, and the west side of the Orange Orchard neighborhood north of Jay Road and west of 30th.
Our favorite firefly hangout is Sawhill Lakes west of 75th Street between Valmont and Jay roads. The trail leading from the parking lot past the osprey nesting platform to the woods at the end of the trail sparkles with lustful lightning bugs as skies darken. Another option is to walk west along the exempt railroad tracks where wet ditches provide ideal firefly habitat.
One of the best firefly spots in Colorado is Valley View Hot Springs (currently closed because of Covid 19) at the north end of San Luis Valley. When it reopens, you can soak in a natural pool lined with giant helleborine orchids and lit by fireflies flashing overhead. Be sure to hike up to the Orient Land Trust Mine to watch thousands of Mexican free-tail bats emerge at sunset.
For a foretaste of firefly magic, check “synchronous fireflies Great Smoky Mountains National Park” on Youtube.
Ruth Carol and Glenn Cushman are the authors of Boulder Hiking Trails, published by West Margin Press
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June Nature Walk: Firefly light, firefly bright, where shall I see your flight tonight? - The Daily Camera
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