The Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter invites nature lovers to get flashed.

The environmental nonprofit that provides the public opportunities to connect with the outdoors will host two events that center around fireflies.

The first, a Firefly Open House, will be held from 9-11 p.m. on Friday, July 5, and the other, Brillo Nocturno: A Night with Fireflies, is scheduled for 7:30-10:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 6, said Hunter Klingensmith, director of visitor experience.

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“The open house is free, and no registration is needed,” she said. “The EcoCenter will be open so people can explore inside and outside, and we’ll have two staff members here. One will be out on the deck, and then someone will be at the front desk to welcome people.”

if you think about when you would commonly see fireflies, you have to be outside pretty late at night and near a wetland.” Hunter Klingensmith, Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter director of visitor experience

People can drop in to learn about fireflies and venture onto the back deck to see them, according to Klingensmith.

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“We see a lot of fireflies right off the deck,” she said. “Obviously we don’t have any control of when the fireflies start flashing, but the best time to see them is May through late June and early July, and they usually start flashing between 9:30 and 10 p.m. So historically we’ve pretty much always seen them the week of the Fourth of July.”

Visitors will be asked for their zip codes and how they hear about the open house, Klingensmith said.

“That helps us figure out where people are coming from, and the information is important for grant writing,” she said. 

The July 6 event, Brillo Nocturno: A Night with Fireflies, is made possible through a partnership with Latino Outdoors, an organization that Jose Gonzalez founded that connects the Latinx community with public lands, according to Klingensmith. 

“We’re starting earlier and plan to have pre-firefly activities like a craft and other activities,” she said. “We’ll also do a firefly storytime, and then we’ll serve s’mores outside our fire pit.”

Saturday’s event is free, but registration is requested to ensure organizers will have enough supplies for the evening, according to Klingensmith.

“Registration will also help us know if people know if people need a Spanish-language translator,” she said. “We’ll make sure we’ll have someone to do that.”

The Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter’s partnership with Latino Outdoors reached back a few months, Klingensmith said.

“We had reached out to them to find a speaker for a film panel, and I mentioned that we have some other activities coming up,” she said. “One of their volunteers and I got together and did a wildflower walk, and we hope to do more events with them. We want to make sure our programs are as accessible as possible. Because we want to be a resource for everyone in our community.”

These firefly events are not only designed to teach the public about fireflies. They also help quell misconceptions that there aren’t fireflies in Utah, according to Klingensmith.

“We know on the East Coast and Midwest fireflies are pretty abundant, but we do have some in the West,” she said. 

One of the biggest reasons why many people in Utah don’t often know fireflies are here is because fireflies like wet habitats, Klingensmith said.

“They will lay their eggs in wet, decomposing plant materials in wetland open meadows,” she said. “They also flash late at night. So, if you think about when you would commonly see fireflies, you have to be outside pretty late at night and near a wetland.”

Also, light pollution from office buildings, campfires and other sources drown out firefly flashing, Klingensmith said.

“Most of the people who know about fireflies in Utah are usually ranchers and farmers,” she said. “The oldest specimens of fireflies were collected in 1929 and are housed at the Natural History Museum of Utah.”

The museum runs the Western Firefly Project, which helps scientists track firefly populations in Utah, Klingensmith said.

“It’s a community science project and anyone can report firefly sightings to them,” she said. “In turn, the team will verify the sightings.”

All fireflies are beetles, and their light comes from a bioluminescent chemical reaction in their bodies, Klingensmith said.

“They use their flash to attract mates,” she said. “And one of the things scientists have found is that most fireflies can flash in different patterns. So in areas where there are like 10 different species of fireflies, they will all flash differently to find their mates.”

There is usually one type of firefly species that is found in Summit County and most of Utah, Klingensmith said.

“So, we’ll see one pattern of flashing during our events,” she said.