Great Smoky Mountains Elkmont Firefly Watchers to Invade this June!

It happens every year in the Smokies and it doesn't happen anywhere else in the world like this. The invasion. It may not be the British invasion of the 60's, but beetles are involved in this one as well. The synchronous fireflies of the Smokies are coming…The synchronous fireflies of the Smokies are coming!

To say that the sight of a Smokies firefly blinking in perfect harmony with thousands of other lightning bugs all around you is a true miracle of nature is not an exaggeration. Scientists have been coming here from around the world to study our extremely rare fireflies and though they know much about these little creatures, the ability to control the synchronized flashing lights is still a mystery.

Other than a small area in Asia that has a different lightning bug that flashes in the trees synchronized, no other fireflies around the world can do this like ours in the Smoky Mountains can.

The synchronous firefly Photinus carolinus is not alone in the Great Smoky Mountains as there are actually 18 other species that we know of, but only this one flashes in unison, thousands of them at a time!

While this amazing firefly is so rare, it can be found in staggeringly huge numbers in section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee just a few minutes from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

So many people came to this small place every year for the 2 weeks that this display of flashing lights happens, that a shuttle service had to be arranged in order to fit as many people as possible safely and comfortably.

Until last year if you wanted to see the fireflies in Elkmont during the peak mating season when they flash, you would have to park at the Sugarlands Visitor Center Parking area just outside the city limits of Gatlinburg Tennessee.

You would then wait in line for hours hoping that there was space on the shuttle for you. Many people were turned away everyday as only about 1,000 people per night could be accommodated.

Last years in 2012 the system changed so that you must reserve a parking pass in advance for $1.50 a car and then up to 6 people from that car are able to buy a round trip ticket to see the fireflies in Elkmont for $1 a person.

While the new reservation system for the firefly shuttles worked far better, a problem last year was that the fireflies were just about done with their mating a full 2 weeks earlier than normal when the shuttle were running. Wildflowers were also blooming about 2 - 3 weeks earlier than normal as well due to exceptionally warm weather in the winter.

This year the wildflowers, trees, migrating birds and insects in the Great Smoky Mountains are about a week behind normal so the shuttles are scheduled to run from June 6th through June 13th a time right in line with previous peak flashing seasons.

The early reservations sold out within hours and now the only parking passes so you can ride the firefly shuttle are being sold on a first come first served bases the day before departure. With only 85 passes a day to be sold, we expect them to be sold out in minutes every day they become available.

If all this sounds like too much of a hassle, or if you missed out and the tickets are gone, all is not lost. There are a few places where the fireflies can be seen before, during and after the main display in Elkmont.

As a matter of fact, there are even cabins that you can rent where you will be able to see the synchronous fireflies right from your deck or just a short distance on private property you and other guest have access to. No crowds, no lines and no fees!

The Brothers Cove Log Cabin Resort community happens to be one of those magical places in the Smokies where you can find the synchronous fireflies because it has everything the little critters like: a very wooded natural environment with small creeks and even large open fields. Brothers Cove is also tucked in a mountain far away from the lights of Pigeon Forge which makes the firefly show that much better.

Besides Brothers Cove, there are other places in the Great Smoky Mountains national park where you can catch the fireflies away from the crowds. If you are willing to hike in for a distance, park your car at the Cades Cove orientation shelter and walk right in. Fireflies can be seen in the fields, on Sparks Lane, by the Abrams Falls Trailhead and Hyatt Lane.

Don't feel like walking far? They can be seen in Tremont which is between Townsend and Cades Cove also at around the same time of the year. Coming later? Mid to late June they can be found if you park your car at one of the pull outs along Clingmans Dome Road. Since it is up higher the season starts later.

There are other places outside the park in Wears Valley, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge that these true miracles of God's creation can be found!

Synchronized Fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains

Fireflies synchronized light show season starts in Great Smoky Mountains national park.

If you have been in the Smokies the past few weeks, you would have seen that the lightning bugs have been flashing brighter and glowing more and more every night and in the Great Smoky Mountains national park synchronized firefly season has begun!

While all fireflies are a miracle of God's creation, one of the firefly beetles found in the south Appalachian Smoky Mountains are even more amazing compared to any other firefly and will delight everyone young or old. What has been a well-kept secret has grown to become one of the huge tourist attractions each spring in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Not only has firefly watching in the Smokies become a huge happening drawing in about 10,000 visitors to watch a light show that lasts about 3 weeks, other events have sprung up around the synchronous lightning bugs and the fantastic experience of watching them in the GSMNP.

The All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory project going on in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a project performed by scientists, researches and volunteers that are searching for every species living in the park for the world's largest research program called "Discover Life in America". This project has already identified more than 17,000 species in the park, 6,500 of which we did not know they were here and an astonishing 900 of which are brand new to science!

The great folks at "Discover Life in America" will be hosting a firefly event this year to coincide with the peak firefly season. The Smokies Firefly Events will take place in Gatlinburg Tennessee on June 12th at the Nantahala Outdoor Center Great Outpost just outside the GSMNP entrance. There will be firefly information, an insect zoo, kids activities, music with Captain Firefly, art, a secret "dark" room to "bioluminate" and food and drink vendors.

However, the big questions remain such as: What makes the fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains so special?

While all of God's creatures are special, 13 of the 14 species of fireflies that inhabit the Great Smoky Mountains national park and the surrounding southern Appalachian mountains and foothills are more run of the mill creatures that can through a miracle in nature produce their own light in various shades of yellow, green and even blue to attract a mate, 1 species is even more unique.

The most unusual firefly named Photinus Carolinus is able to synchronize its light with other lightning bugs around it. The light it the firefly gives off called bioluminescence is a chemical reaction occurring in its abdomen with a self-produced enzyme and oxygen.

The Photinus Carolinus synchronized light starts as random pulses and builds up to where large groups of beetles all flash together and then suddenly, everything goes black. Just as quickly as it stopped, the whole process starts all over again.

Where can you find the synchronized fireflies in the Smokies? The firefly beetles that synchronize can be found over much of Smokies as long as the conditions are correct, but to be really impressive, you need to have large population densities of fireflies which means that you need the right conditions. The best conditions where the fireflies thrive is along slow moving water with lush plant growth.

The perfect conditions where fireflies thrive is along one of the most popular hiking trails located in the Elkmont section of the Great Smoky Mountains national park. This hiking trail is also large enough to accommodate the 1,000 people a night that show up to see the event and smooth enough for people to be safe walking the trail in the dark.

When is the best time to see the fireflies in the GSMNP? Obviously, the best time to see the fireflies is at night, but the peak of the firefly season in the Smoky Mountains is around the second week in June. Since soil temperature dictates when they will emerge from the ground and thus when they will be ready to mate, each year the exact best date to see the lightning bugs in the Smoky Mountains changes.

Since so many people come to the firefly show in the GSMNP, the park service closes Elkmont for a year and takes visitors in by trolley from the Sugarlands Visitors Center near Gatlinburg starting 7 pm for a $1 per person round trip. Once the parking lot fills, or it is 9 pm, the trolleys stop running to Elkmont.

This year the trolleys will run June 5th 2010 until June 13th 2010. If you miss the trolleys because you came to the Smokies a week or so late, do not despair, you still will get a great free light show along the Little River Hiking Trail!

Related Smokies Blog Stories:
Rare Synchronizing Fireflies Find Confirmed In Brothers Cove Resort in Wears Valley.

Fireflies synchronized light show season starts in Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Synchronous fireflies and admirers about to invade the Great Smoky Mountains national park

Cabins for rent where you can see the synchronized fireflies in the Smoky Mountains

Smoky Mountains firefly show in Elkmont near Gatlinburg

Elkmont Section of national park yearly visit by synchronized fireflies

Synchronized Fireflies: Great Smoky Mountains National Park