Years ago when our kids were young we camped as a family in Mactaquac Provincial Park in New Brunswick, not far from Fredericton. We were there on Canada Day and hoped we might see the city firework display from the campground. We could hear the explosions but we weren't able to view the fireworks even when we went down by the water. We ended up enjoying God's firework display in the form of lots of fireflies.
It turns out that one of the many delights of our backyard in Belleville is fireflies. Little did we know that they are disappearing across North America (shades of Monarch butterflies?) and there is a Firefly Watch initiative https://legacy.mos.org/fireflywatch/ to track where they still exist.
In my opinion fireflies are one of those little miracles of creation which should astound us. Here is an explanation of how they work:
Fireflies light up to attract a mate. To do this, the fireflies contain specialized cells in their abdomen that make light. The cells contain a chemical called luciferin and make an enzyme called luciferase. To make light, the luciferin combines with oxygen to form an inactive molecule called oxyluciferin.
Is this not amazing? Sure, I'm fine with evolutionary adaptation for the propagation of the species and all that stuff, but I not too old to have a sense of wonder. I enjoy God's nightlights even if that isn't a scientific explanation. I hope they never go out.
Any firefly stories? Had you heard that they are scarce these days?
I hadn't thought of fireflies becoming scarce, although, now that I think of it, I have not seen any for a few years ... I used to really enjoy them, as a child, in my back yard and at Camp... and was always fascinated by how they could appear in one place, "switch off", then reappear in another in a second or so.
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