Firefly Walk

2019 -- Take a summer walk on the prairie to view the magical blinking lights of fireflies a.k.a. lightning bugs. Search for different colors, patterns, and behaviors. Examine a firefly and its lantern up close. Try your skill at attracting a firefly by imitating its flashing pattern. Find out why it seems there aren't as many fireflies as there used to be, and what people are doing to learn more about these flashy, mysterious insects.

We will meet and begin on the deck. After a brief introduction, we'll walk and explore the rest of the hour, ending with a brief wrap-up. The visitor center will be closed, but the restrooms will be available if needed at the start and end of the walk.

Both fireflies and mosquitoes live in damp places. Please bring your own mosquito repellent and apply it at the parking lot before you approach the visitor center (due to allergies that some people have to DEET and other ingredients). Better yet, wear long sleeves and long pants and skip the spray since it repels fireflies as well.

Other materials and flashlights with red acetate coverings will be provided for your use. (Please do not bring or use other artificial lights as they are more harmful to the vision of fireflies and people.)

Please dress for the weather. This is a rain or shine event. A rain coat/pants are recommended instead of umbrellas for safety reasons since we are travelling in the dark as a group. In the event of heavy rain, high winds, and/or lightning, we will meet inside for a presentation on fireflies (and hope the conditions improve in the meantime so we can go outside for a shortened period of time).

This event is free and open to the public. Please register by calling the PWLC visitor center at 218-998-4480. We will need to know how many adults and children you are bringing, the ages of your children, your phone number, and if you have any special needs that we need to be aware of to allow your fullest participation.

Photo: Lightning bug or firefly/FWS