Firefly Reports from Utah
Selected by Donald Ray Burger
Attorney at Law

To submit your own report email burger@burger.com
Please include your city/town and state, and the date of your sighting. Include as many details as you can, such as numbers of fireflies, location (rural/city/wooded area, etc), temperature, time, and so on. Thanks for helping with this project.

Below are reports from Utah, listed in date order, alphabetically by city.

Utah:

Brigham City:
May 31, 2003: A reader writes: I left Massachusetts over 20 years ago. I had not seen fireflies since then until now. I had heard of legends of these magical creatures in a cow pasture on the north side of Brigham City, Utah. I found it hard to believe until I drove down an old dirt road to investigate it . . . and there they were sending messages while the rest of us were making hay. I brought a truckload of giggling teenagers to the site and they immediately became silent with awe as we watched the carefree little lights dance across the meadows.

Misc.
July 7, 1999: A reader explains: We live in a very country area of Utah- our backyard is a preserved swamp land- with cat tails growing abundantly. The fire flies are everywhere back there. I'm told that they are less likely to be seen when the moon is bright or the sky is too clear- so city lights would definitely effect that.

Plain City
July 3, 2005: A reader writes: Absolutely confirmed! I was invited out by the observer of the previous Plain City, Utah, report and I verify there is a healthy population of fireflies! We watched them (my first ever!) for about 45 minutes. Thanks for the referral to him to make this possible. It was a great thing!
June 4, 2005: Mike Newcomb notes: Tonight, June 4th, 2005, is the 4th consecutive year that I have seen fireflies in Plain City, Utah, located just west of Ogden City in Northern Utah. There are many marshes in this area, about 12 miles east of the Great Salt Lake. Like last year, it was a clear night, with an evening temperature of about 60 degrees. These same marshes are noisy with leopard frog serenades. Last year, I saw thousands of fireflies between June 7th and July 18th. Tonight, I was thrilled to see their return with about 15 or so sightings in these same marshes. These wetlands weave around residential areas and homeowners only have to sit on their back porch at dusk for the light display. Last year, I saw these light guys in five different areas in an area within 1/2 mile of my home. I don't know the species, but they are very similar to the lightning bugs I've seen in the Birmingham, Alabama, area. I told an entomologist friend who works for the Forest Service about the fireflies and he told me it was a fluke. "They aren't suppose to be west of Kansas." With four straight years enjoying them, I'm beginning to wonder.

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