NASHVILLE: Crowds of eco-tourists from around the world will gather in two remote Appalachian forests in Tennessee and Pennsylvania in coming weeks to see spectacular light shows created by a rare species of firefly that can synchronise its flashes.
Synchronous fireflies, which appear annually for roughly two and a half weeks typically from the middle of May until the beginning of June, light up along the Bluff Trail at Congaree National Park in Hopkins, South Carolina. Tourists from more than 40 states and as far away as Taiwan won the spots near the park's entrance in Townsend, Tennessee, home to 445 people, sawmills and a handful of inexpensive restaurants and motels.
"People are very curious about the environment now, climate change, the nature world in general. Fireflies are an indicator species, indicating that the habitat is clean, free from pesticide pollution. But they are disappearing across the world," she said.