Skye Young and Megan Knight weren’t trying to find the first documented blue ghost fireflies in Mecklenburg County. They were just excited about fireflies.
The two environmental educators were participating in a community science project on June 9 that tracks threatened and little-known firefly species in North America. Knight said their discovery, while participating in the Firefly Atlas project, was a happy accident.
“We weren’t specialized scientists or anything,” Knight said of finding the blue ghost species in Mecklenburg. “We were just excited about fireflies, and went out and looked and found these guys.”
Young said the difference between typical fireflies and the ghost species was obvious.
“The most common fireflies you see around here, like the common eastern firefly, they’re not as affected by light pollution,” Young said. “And they’ve got the traditional yellow-green flash that goes off every few seconds.
“When Megan spotted this one [blue ghost firefly], both of us were like, ‘That’s different.'"
Blue ghost fireflies are typically found in the Blue Ridge Mountains and western North Carolina.
Knight said the blue ghost fireflies “were probably always here [in Mecklenburg], and we just didn’t know about it.”
For those wanting a glimpse of the blue ghost firefly, Knight says to look for a bluish-white light that doesn’t blink.
“It’s more of a constant glow,” she said. “And they do fly pretty low to the forest floor, so it would most likely be in a forested area with lots of nice leaf litter on the ground — and that constant bluish-white glow.”
But Young said it may be hard to find any near densely populated Charlotte.
“It is also a dimmer firefly,” Young said. ”So if you’re in an area that has a lot of light pollution, you’re going to be a lot less likely to see [one], if it’s there.”
For those wanting to attract fireflies to their yards, Young and Knight advise planting native plants and not discarding leaf litter.
“The fireflies will live in there a large part of their life,” Knight said. “Especially the females spend a lot of time in the leaves.”
Have you spotted a blue ghost firefly in your neighborhood? Contact the newsroom at news@wfae.org.
