I used to love watching them, too, but haven't seen any in many years.

I saw the first one of the season the other night when I was out tossing the ball to DS. I said "it is too dark to pitch if we are seeing lightning bugs!" LOL!

We have loads of them.

Some nights you can drive down the highway and they splat on your windshield and glow - icky :)

It is a sure sign of summer for me.

They fascinate me. We didn't have them in CA.

Love them! I'm glad some of you are seeing many this year, because they've been rather sparse here. But last year they put on a fabulous show.

I wish I knew why we don't have them in California.
The are the coolest things!
That was one of the kids favorite things to do when we went to Tennessee to visit my grandmother.

We call them lightning bugs!
As a kid, we would punch holes in the tops of fruit jars, catch them, and later on that nite release them.

Those were the good ole days.

Don't have lightening bugs here in southern California. I have told the kids that they do exist when we see the mechanical ones at Disneyland at the beginning of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Only DD has seen the real thing visiting her in-laws. She is intrigued by them.

We used to have them here, haven't seen them in years. Growing up in TN, Oak Ridge would pay kids for them.

I love watching them. We had them last year, but not this year. They had been getting fewer and fewer over the past fews years.

They don't live in Florida, either. So after 6 years in Florida, we moved to Tennessee, and my kids (2 were born in FL, and one didn't remember living anywhere else) saw them for the first time. I grew up around them in Ohio, so while I had missed the summer tradition, I wasn't surprised by them. I didn't think to point them out to my kids and identify them. I had a good laugh when they all dropped their mouths open and pointed "What is THAT?" It was fun, they were just the right age to be amazed by them.

I think maybe the bugs need cold ground for their larvae stage? Anyone know? Seems like that's what I read once. That's whey they aren't in climates that don't get a cold winter.

We see a few here, lucky to see 5-6 a night, not like we'd see in Ohio or even Tennessee. Once in TN I read that scientists needed them for research, and would be in town collecting captured lightning bugs on certain days in August. You were supposed to capture them, then put the entire container in the freezer where they would, of course, die. But you had to keep them frozen. So we'd catch 30-40 a night, freeze the jars, then the next day transfer the dead, frozen bugs to a larger container. Then store them in the freezer until the collection time. Even then, you were supposed to bring them in a container, in a cooler packed with ice. They could not thaw out after that first freezing, could not get wet and have ice on them. We had hundreds of dead lightning bugs in our freezer. They were buying the lightning bugs, I don't remember the price, but it wasn't much. We figured if we even had 500-600 we'd be lucky to buy one milkshake with our profit. LOL. It was just a fun summer diversion. Then we ended up having to move a few days before the collection date, so we never did get to turn them it. I offered them to a couple neighbors to carry on the project, but no took me up on it, just looked at me like I was nuts. Go figure.

Sorry, that got long. People tell me I have a story for everything. When I've had too much caffeine, I tell them all!

I have never seen one.....guess I will have to put it on my "Bucket List."

I loved them when I lived in Iowa, but not like the kids loved them. They were obsessed with them. It was fun. There were these bugs that lived in the trees that also made like a humming noise. Trying to remember the name of them.... locus or lotus. The name slipped my mind like most things.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our family's journey with autism

Stephanie -- I don't know much about the critters (other than growing up in OH and they were constant in the summer) but after 20 yrs. in the South (LA, FL, TX) I finally got to see a bajillion of them when visiting DK's & DGK's in Missouri City TX (south of Houston. Where it's hot. All year long. VERY hot. The ground never gets cold.) Their lot backed up to a golf course, and we were out stumbling around on the rough with flashlights & 4 GK's aged 2-7 catching and releasing. It was AWESOME! They don't live ther any more :-(

Here in my part of Pennsylvania they blanket our grassy backyard.

Two of our three dogs are totally perplexed by them. On occasion they start chasing them, but usually they hunker down in the grass and watch them with a certain amount of awe.

It is one of the highlights of summer.

Kim

I've only seen a few. Yes I loved watching them.

ME too, grew up chasing them! Jarring them and watching all the lillle lights...another miracle of nature!

Like Glenda said, We call them lightning bugs!
As a kid, we would punch holes in the tops of fruit jars, catch them, and later on that nite release them.

We had so many when I was a child, but now we are lucky to see two or three when we sit outside.

When we were growing up there were lots of lightning bugs and we would catch them in a jar and put a little grass in there and watch them for hours and then set them free. One memory to never be forgotten. I just love to see them now. Oh the memories are good.