Seeing fireflies
Fireflies flash in codes, and every flash waits for an answer, so watching them invites you to weigh the signals you send. Jamaicans said a firefly on the ceiling meant a visitor was coming.
What it may mean
A summer yard full of fireflies is a crowded conversation. Each species has its own code: the males fly and flash a pattern, and a female in the grass answers after a precise pause that tells him she is the right kind. Get the code or the timing wrong and there is no reply. Some predatory fireflies even copy another species' answer to lure males in. So a single blink on your ceiling or across the lawn is a good occasion to think about the signals in your own life. Are you sending in a code the other person can read? Are you answering the messages that matter, and on time? Whose replies have you been misreading?
Depending on how you saw it
A flash that rises in a J
The common eastern firefly draws a short swoop of light that rises like the letter J, a signature that females recognize at a glance. A whole species signs its name the same way. What is your own signature move, the thing people would recognize you by in the dark?
A faint light answering from the grass
The dimmer, steadier flash low in the grass is often a female replying to a male above. Without her answer, his flashing goes nowhere. Who has been signaling to you, and have you answered?
Thousands flashing together
In a few places, such as the Great Smoky Mountains in early summer, one species of firefly flashes in near unison, whole hillsides blinking at once. Each insect adjusts to its neighbors. Where have you fallen into rhythm with the people around you, for better or worse?
Fewer than you remember
Plenty of adults see fewer fireflies than they did as children. Outdoor lighting drowns out their signals, and mowed lawns and pesticides take away their young. Turning off the porch light helps. What around you needs a little darkness in order to be heard?
Why it happens in nature
Fireflies are beetles that make light by a chemical reaction in their abdomen, producing almost no heat. Each species has its own flash pattern; males signal in flight and females answer from the grass. Outdoor lights at night drown out these signals, which is one reason fireflies have become scarcer in many places.
What folk beliefs say
British Guiana (Guyana)
In British Guiana, fireflies coming into the house were said to announce strange visitors.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 2 (1903), vol. 2, p. 628. View the page
Jamaica
In Jamaica, seeing a firefly on the ceiling meant that you would have a visitor.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 2 (1903), vol. 2, p. 628. View the page
Venezuela (Cumaná)
At Cumaná, in Venezuela, the use of the cucujo, a large West Indian firefly, was once forbidden, because young Spanish ladies used its light to carry on nighttime correspondence with their admirers.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 2 (1903), vol. 2, p. 628. View the page
To reflect on
Whose signals have you been slow to answer, and what would a clear reply look like?