Smoky Mountains: Top Experience
Intro to Magic - The Synchronous Firefly Event
Imagine if you will, that you are in a dark forest at night. You can barely see your hand in front of your face, and have nothing but the sounds and smells of the forest to engage your senses. Suddenly, a lone firefly lights up, flashing in three consecutive bursts of light. There is a short pause, and then then it happens. The bioluminescent primer triggers a photon bomb, as the sea of previously invisible fireflies numbering in the thousands, pulses in response. You watch as the wall of light radiates out from the epicenter and through the forest, the responding fireflies flashing in six to eight successive bursts as they catch the wave. Then, just as soon as it had started, it is over. As the last firefly in the vicinity ends their short burst, the forest goes dark. “So is that it?” you ask. “Is that the show?”
A couple of seconds pass, and then you see the familiar three pulse flash of the pace setter. No, it is not over. The show has just begun. You still have two hours of bioluminescent magic in store for your evening. From this point, the show takes on a life of its own. Other pace setters set up shop in alternate locations in the forest, resulting in waves of light that collide with one another and pass through you. Occasionally, a synchronization occurs, as the pace setters appear to reach proper proximity from one another and the entire forest begins to light up in unison. The three-dimensional spectacle is amplified as strobing fireflies pass within inches of your face, providing you with a reminder of the true wonder of this event. The producer of this nature show, and the dancers in this primal, choreographed mating ritual are tiny little beetles; each possessing a brain equal in size to a grain of sand. Welcome to one of natures most bizarre and beautiful displays: the Synchronous Firefly Event, brought to you by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
What is Going on Here?
Photinus carolinus, commonly known as “synchronous fireflies”, have rare congregation points at very specific times in only a few places in the United States. The Elkmont campground beside the Little River in the Smokies happens to be one of those locations, and is one of the best synchronous firefly displays in the world. The synchronization of the light display is rooted in the mating ritual of this species, much as it is in other species. Interestingly, however, it is currently unknown why the fireflies are programmed to sync up in their display. There is little doubt that it has something to do with the selection of mates by the females, but what advantage is gained by lighting up in synchrony is dubious.
I propose the Scotty Nightclub Dance Move Theory, or SNDM Theory, to explain this. There was a time when Scotty was a regular at the night clubs, back in the single days. I have some sick moves that I would execute to take over the dance floor (mostly from the dated disco and funk era). While my dazzling moves would draw the attention of males and females alike, they were completely out of sync with the remainder of the dance floor. Entertaining? Yes. Attractive? Empirical historic evidence would suggest otherwise. I theorize that this is what is happening with the synchronous fireflies. The males get out on the dance floor (forest) and show the females that they can keep the rhythm and maybe stand out with a bit of quiet confidence. This heightens the odds that they will take a lady-firefly back to their leaf pad. The few innovators that opt to break the monotonous rhythm with some wild firefly disco-move equivalent will certainly stand out, but the SNDM Theory dictates that they will almost certainly be going home alone.
Photinus Carolinus - Synchronous Firefly
(Picture snatched from us.gov. Pretty sure we can use this because we pay our federal taxes, but if you are an attorney and we are wrong, please let us know. Being an enemy of the state is not in our best interest while conducting travel throughout the country.)
Okay. So the Scotty dance moves did work once… kind of. I suppose that we do live in an RV and still have no immediate plans to have children. Maybe that’s what happens to the synchronous fireflies that fail to conform. They take their dance moves on the road. This would certainly explain the overwhelming abundance of non-synchronous firefly species that grace our planet.
I Wanna See! Show Me Some Pictures!!!
I have some good news and some bad news for everyone that wants to see pictures and/or video of this event. To the best of our knowledge it is not possible. This is one that you must experience in person. “No way!” you say? “With all of the developments in photography and video, it must be possible!” you say? Well, if you do find something, please let us know! Seriously. Look it up online and try. This is a highly popular event that has been going on for years. What you will be met with is time-lapse pictures, and people oohing and ahhing in YouTube videos while you are watching a blank screen that might as well have been shot in a cave.
I have thought about this. Certainly there must be a solution, right? A university could mount a high-dollar video camera with a massive aperture that would be capable of pulling in enough light to capture the event! I am thinking not. You may see the fireflies, but you would also be pulling in so much light that you would also see a dim hue of the forest in the shot. Not the same. To our knowledge, it is impossible to capture this event via photography or video. That’s right. you cannot capture the experience. It is one of those things that you must experience in person. Here are our best attempts with time-lapse shots, but I think that we can all agree that they are quite lame. We did, however, meet a very talented photographer while we were at the event, and he captured a beautiful time-lapse shot that you can view on his Facebook page. Here is a link to his post and his most excellent shot: P.Sisto’s Synchronous Firefly Picture.
So what is the good news?
The good news is that this is one of those events that you get to experience and treasure, reflect, and play back inside your giant, melon-sized human brain. It makes the experience that much more immersive to know that you have no way of capturing the event by any other means than your senses, and have nothing to reflect upon but your memories. That makes this event very, very special and intimate, so if you get the chance to experience this for yourself, do not miss the opportunity!
If you are interested in seeing this for yourself, you will first need to win the Firefly Lottery. Here is a link to the official firefly lottery website: Synchronous Firefly Event. Space is limited fore each evening, so keep trying, and eventually you will win the lottery and get an opportunity to experience the event for yourself! If you dig nature, you will certainly not regret it!