Nothing heralds the arrival of summer quite as poetically as the mid-air dance of lightning bugs.

These bioluminescent critters may be called fireflies at points north, west and east but in the American South, they’re lightning bugs. And each summer, they capture the imagination of kids wringing out every last drop of daylight and adults soaking in the season’s pleasant, twilight gloaming.   

Lightning bugs are a summer staple, indeed. But did you know they actually are a type of winged beetle? And that their lights are cold? Check out this lightning bug primer at PorterBriggs.com.

An excerpt:

It is said that when Walt Disney had artificial lightning bugs installed in the Disneyland “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride, Californians thought they were simply another whimsical expression of Disney magic. They couldn’t believe that such a thing really existed.

Good stuff. Now, get out there this evening and enjoy the show. And don’t forget your Mason jar…