When I was growing up in Ruidoso in the 1950s, my father acquired a little teardrop shaped camping trailer and managed to find a secluded spot on the lower end of Eagle Creek where he parked it for weekend getaways. My father named the tiny trailer “Petitesy” after a kitten that my brother inherited and tried unsuccessfully to get us to adopt.
I think the camper was parked illegally on U.S. Forest Service land, but no one ever asked us to relocate it during the four of five years it was there. The land surrounding that spot is now part of a development featuring high six-figure and higher summer homes.
I mention this because of a recent article by Source New Mexico indicating that fireflies (or lightning bugs if you prefer) can be found in certain locations in our state, despite some previous claims that they did not exist in our high, dry climate. Experts say that the number of these insects are declining throughout the world.
I can confirm that at least at one time, they did exist around our camping trailer campsite along lower Eagle Creek. We were sitting around a campfire one evening and noticed some quickly moving glowing spots a few yards away from where we were. We first thought they might be glowing cinders from the campfire, but when we walked to where we had spotted the source of flashing lights, it was clear that the light was coming from some insects. I can’t recall how many of the bugs we saw flickering near our campsite, but there were enough to convince everyone there that the bugs did indeed exist.
I’ve never seen them again in New Mexico on any of our various outdoor outings, but I have witnessed them in Washington, D.C., near my wife’s family farm in Nebraska and in Austin, TX, where our daughter lives.
According to the Source New Mexico “four confirmed sightings of Photinus pyralis, the Common Eastern Firefly, have occurred in New Mexico since 2021. They all occurred between 8 p.m. and midnight in late June or early July in Northeastern New Mexico, specifically in Guadalupe, San Miguel and the border between Mora and Harding counties.”
Anna Walker, who is associated with the “Western Firefly Project” says she witnessed hundreds of them on the night of July 3, 2021 in Mills Canyon in northeastern New Mexico near the town of Roy. She continues to gather reports about firefly sightings, many of which turn out to be false, but is optimistic that there are enough in our state that you might some day witness them.
If you’re interested in learning more about firefly sightings in New Mexico, and have a sighting to report, here’s the Source New Mexico link:
Researchers insist fireflies exist in New Mexico — if you know where to look • Source New Mexico
aero-cordero.com 