Our prairie grass grew tall, until Sam retrieved his 1994 Dixon lawnmower from the shed. All across the Prairie lawnmowers and tractors with bush hogs came to life.
Occasionally Sam looks at new mowers with names like Cub Cadet, Bad Boy and Ferris, but he always comes back to his faithful Dixon. He said, “I know it,” and he does, having replaced just about every part himself — even fashioning a muffler from a metal coffee can.
A yard of weeds and dandelions became a green carpet with the distinctive smell of freshly-cut grass. I asked Sam to save a few dandelions; the rabbits love them.
The next week Sam worked on the tractor. After new bearings, seals and 17 gallons of hydraulic fluid, “Ole Blue” was ready for the sedge field.
That night we stood outside enjoying the smell of spring, the cool night air and the gazillion stars in the blackened sky. Sam pointed out the twinkling stars in the oak tree, where the leaves were not fully leafed out. At the same moment we realized the twinkling stars were lightening bugs by the dozens.
According to the Mother Earth Network, lightening bugs — “Lampyridae” (Greek for “like a lamp”) — are nocturnal beetles. Their bioluminescence is a cold light, unlike an incandescent light bulb that emits 90 percent heat.
The beetles’ flashing is intermittent, often in patterns, and can be synchronized. Lightening bugs use the flashing to attract mates or prey. They are only found in the eastern United States; there are none in California.
Predators soon find that lightening bugs taste bad and avoid the flashing insects, unlike children, who capture them in jars and keep them in their darkened bedrooms, only to awaken the next morning to find them all on the ceiling. Or like our friend, D.B. we’ll call him, who confessed to pulling off their tails and watching them continue to flash in his hand.
Lightening bugs begin life in the ground where occasionally the larvae will glow. Larvae are carnivores, whereas adults feed on pollen and nectar.
As a child, I remember lightening bugs being plentiful; not so much since. Only lately have I noticed their return. The decline has been attributed to chemicals like DDT and other pesticides. The destruction of habitat plays a role. Smithsonian.com reports, “If a field is paved over they don’t migrate, they just disappear forever.”
Suggested ways to maintain the wonder of lightening bugs are to reduce chemical use, leave sheltering grasses and shrubs, plant flowers for nectar and maintain forest and fields. Turn down artificial light so as not to attract and confuse the little critters. Also, resist capturing lightening bugs for jars or pulling their tails off.
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