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Blue ghost fireflies appear around Hendersonville and Asheville, North Carolina for just two weeks or so each year.Blue ghost firefly males glow just over the ground looking like so many fairies dancing through the night. This unique display occurs end of May as the male blue ghosts use their unique bluish white luminescence to attract a mate.

The bluish color of the blue ghost firefly is unusual among fireflies. Unlike other fireflies who turn their lights on and off, blue ghosts stay lit for up to a minute. Also, the females do not fly but situate themselves on the forest floor and glow faintly. The males fly low, never getting above 24 inches from the ground. The male using their long glowing flight, entices the female to glow then they mate.

The fireflies may be unique to the Western North Carolina mountains but that does not mean they are rare locally. If you can find a mature undisturbed forest in a dark area that is away from yard and security lighting, then you might find the insects in your neighborhood. I have found them in the Rugby, Willow, Crab Creek and Blantyre areas of the county and suspects they can be found in many other areas of the county.

So how to see the blue ghost fireflies? First, locate a mature dark forest with an undergrowth of large rhododendron and mountain laurel where you have permission to access. Start acclimating your eyes to the dark at about 8:30 p.m., extinguishing any artificial lights. If the insects are in the area, you should start to see them wink into view about 9 p.m. under the shade of the densest shrubs. As the next hour progresses and the sky darkens, you should see many more blue ghost fireflies. At the time of this writing (May 24), blue ghosts are at their peak in Henderson County.

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