A little beetle crawling along a branch. He looks like something I would have caught and put into a jar when I was little – a Lightning Bug. But here he is roaming around, not on a hot, humid summer evening, but in WINTER. This doesn’t make sense. So much of Mother Nature’s world is a mystery, but that’s why I’ve got all those books in my library. Books for the baffled master naturalist. Go digging in those books.
Mystery solved! This beetle is a Winter Dark Firefly, Ellychnia corrusca. A cousin to my childhood memory, Lightning Bug. This Winter Dark Firefly, as larva and pupa, produces his own light. As a young adult he will still glow but as he ages he loses that glow. As an adult he finds a snug winter home under tree bark and emerges in late winter or early spring, where I find him crawling along a branch.
Oooh Winter Dark Fly … I love learning about new insects especially if they belong here! So interesting. My last really fun find was a black-legged cricket. Of course I found him on the wall of our shop next to the tall stems of JoePye and Helianthus Microcephalus because they winter over the hollow stems of plants.
So many insects, so little time Kathy! I love to find one, get a picture of it and learn learn learn about him! How cool that you found that cricket making himself at home in just the perfect surroundings for him! Mom says it’s mighty warm down there. Enjoy your time down there!
Did I mention he’s beautiful? And love his name … so Harry Potter-like!
Hahaha! I like that thought, “Harry Potter-like!”
Thank you for sharing the wonders of nature that you observe… Never knew about this little guy!
Thank you Anne. I’m so very glad that you stopped by to read about him. I love nature and adore sharing what I find with others. Stay tuned!
“As a young adult he will still glow but as he ages he loses that glow,” I know the feeling. lol
Hahaha! Khalil, I was thinking that as well. Thanks for the laugh!