The first time I saw a firefly I was stopped dead in my tracks by it. The sudden appearance of this small glowing ember hovering before me as I walked along a forest path made me momentarily suspect that there might indeed be faeries in the world (not saying that there still might not be…).
However living in Oregon as I do, I have not had much field experience since that first sighting with these wondrous creatures (fireflies, not faeries), and consequently, I haven’t had the opportunity to learn more about just what it was I witnessed in that Ohio forest those many years ago.
Thus, I was very glad to have a copy of the Lynn Frierson Faust’s new Fireflies, Glow-worms, and Lightning Bugs; Identification and Natural History of the Fireflies of the Eastern and Central United States and Canada recently reach my desk. As the most recent addition to the Wormsloe Foundation Nature Book series from University of Georgia Press, I expect that Faust’s book will uphold the Foundation’s great tradition of making its subject better understood by a wide general readership – including one long-bearded, long-ago enchanted naturalist I know.
