Sticky season is in full swing. Between Dan DeLuca’s summer playlist, The Inquirer’s heat guide, and this newsletter, we should have everything we need to take on the outdoors together, with confidence. (And a little bit of sweat.)
In this edition:
Fireflies out in full force: See where to find them in and around Philly.
An elusive insect: What plays into the firefly’s global decline?
Your outdoorsy experience: A reader talks about his encounter with a wild coyote.
🥵 The weekend forecast: More moisture. It’s brutal out here. Keep water and sunscreen on deck.
— Paola Pérez ([email protected])
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I was at Pentridge Station one recent evening when a lucky ladybug landed at my table. As the sun went down, I also noticed another bright insect fluttering around us: a firefly.
✨ The lightning bug, as Philadelphians call it, is hard to miss. Its golden glow dancing through the deepening summer night sparks a nostalgic kind of magic. (And yes, spotting one does make me want to sing that song.)
✨ I’ve noticed more fireflies this season, and I’m not alone. Turns out there’s a surge in sightings in central and rural parts of the state, too. Our increasingly warm and wet weather plays a role.
✨ You can find them by open meadows near woods or water — think streams, ponds, or rivers — and well-maintained backyards with native plants. Apart from beer gardens, I’ve spotted a few while walking around my neighborhood at dusk. I always stop to hang around for a little longer and soak up the moment as they light up.
Your best bet for firefly sightings will be outside of the city, but there are a few Philly-area spots that offer some of the best opportunities to see them. Check them out before they disappear for the season.
📮 What do you think? Have you seen more lightning bugs this summer? Do you have any special firefly memories? I’d love to hear your stories.
News worth knowing
We’re all feeling it: The Philadelphia region is being suffocated by a near-historic clamminess. Only two summers since 1948 have been muggier than this one.
A plan to build single-family homes on a Pinelands tract has raised the ire of area hikers and residents, but the developer says she is seeking a deal that would preserve the land.
Saturday is Lumber Day at Black Moshannon State Park. Do your best impression of historic lumbermen with ax-throwing, log rolling, and much more. Live music, and food vendors will also be on site.
Also on Saturday, The Schuylkill Center is hosting a kid-friendly Fairy Festival for a magical celebration of nature, including woodland trail journeys. Check our full calendar of weekend events here.
In celebration of its 25th anniversary, the Philadelphia Navy Yard is hosting a scavenger hunt to explore the historic campus through 25 outdoor stops. Join the fun through July 24.
Tune in to hear Inquirer reporters Jason Nark and Frank Kummer talk to City Cast Philly about their favorite hikes around the city.
Want to head down the Shore, and skip the traffic headache? Here’s how to get from Philly to the beach by train, bus, or rideshare. (Psst: If you’re bringing your teens, be mindful of curfews.)
We may be seeing more fireflies around, but that doesn’t mean the glowing beetles are growing in population.
🎤 Now we’re passing the microphone to Jason Nark.
The boy shuffled, silently, in the wet grass beneath a maple tree, looking like a little blue ghost in his rain poncho. The sky was deep purple and fading fast. He held a peanut butter jar in one hand, the cap in the other, and waited, patiently, for nature’s magic show to begin at the Linn Conservancy in Union County. Giggles erupted from out by the corn field, then excited screams by the forest’s edge.
Then, in the growing dark beneath that tree, he saw it too, that momentary flash of greenish-yellow, like a fairy, floating through the night. “Oh my gosh,” Andrés Estrada said, sealing his jar. “I got one.”
The fireflies seemed to outnumber the raindrops on this stormy June night, thousands of them blinking in every direction in the air above the fields. Researchers say firefly numbers are in decline, globally, however, and there’s a concern that nights like this in Central Pennsylvania and everywhere else, could become rare.
“What’s really become apparent is that we just don’t have enough data,” Sarah Lower, a biology professor at Bucknell University, said at the conservancy. “There’s so much we don’t know about them.” — Jason Nark (June 2023)
Read on for more on what’s happening to the firefly.
5 seconds of calm
Gotta stop to take in the serene Schuylkill. I captured this along the Pencoyd Trail.
🌳 Your outdoorsy experience
A few weeks ago, I told you about a rise in coyote sightings, and what to do if you see one. Wilbert Durant wrote in from Lansdowne to share a recent encounter with a coyote. He told me he’d never seen one in the area before:
I was out with my small dog and saw it approach from the street. For a second, I thought it was a fox. I put my flashlight on it and I could see, it was taller and the coloring was this gray and brown with a longer tail, pointing downward. I think it wanted the little dog. It retreated twice across the street and returned, both times avoiding getting hit by a vehicle which slowed!
Do you have any unforgettable memories in the wild? In 200 words, tell me us about your favorite outdoor adventures. Pictures, if you have them, are awesome. You might see it featured in a future newsletter.
👋🏽 This heat is no joke, folks. Stay hydrated, and take care out there!
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