Fireflies at Fernald Preserve

Lighting up the Shadows: The Secret Lives of Fireflies, Lightning Bugs, & Glow-worms

Date: Friday, June 7, 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. There will be an indoor presentation followed by an outside exploration at dusk to look for fireflies.

Location : Fernald Preserve – this will be a joint program with Audubon and Fernald, and will be held at the Fernald Preserve Visitor Center.

Presenter: Matthew Speights, matthewspeights@gmail.com

As children, we loved to catch fireflies (a.k.a. lightning bugs) on warm, summer nights, but few of us realized the secrets these insects were hiding. During our talk, you’ll discover the hidden world of fireflies and learn about their biology, behaviors, lifestyles, and survival mechanisms. You’ll learn how to identify local species, why many fireflies are threatened today, and what you can do to advance firefly conservation. Following the talk, we’ll walk the grounds to observe and identify fireflies.

Matthew Speights is an avocational naturalist with interests in botany, entomology, and paleontology. As a young boy, he experienced the common dinosaur craze, but this grew from a phase into a permanent nature obsession that currently manifests through educational outreach, writing, and speaking about botany, orchid cultivation, terrarium construction, native gardening, fireflies, and paleontology. In 2022, he discovered the first population of a firefly previously unreported in Ohio, the Blue Ghost (Phausis reticulata). Since then, he has collaborated with local conservation organizations and city and county parks to do educational outreach and field research on firefly distribution in the Midwest. He is currently trying to modify his native garden to attract even more fireflies.

About Fernald Preserve: The Fernald Preserve was opened to the public in August 2008 and is the property of the federal government. The site is operated by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management. Once the location of a uranium foundry that served as the first link in America’s nuclear weapon’s production cycle, the Fernald property has undergone a $4.4 billion environmental cleanup and ecological restoration. The ecological restoration of the property was accomplished using plants and grasses native to southwestern Ohio that were identified in an 1819 land survey of the area.

The Fernald Preserve features 140 acres of wetland habitat, 400 acres of forests and 360 acres of grasslands including tall grass prairies. The preserve currently has about 2.5 miles of trails with additional trail construction planned for 2009. Lodge Pond trail, located along the site’s access road approximately 1/8 mile from the Willey Road entrance, provides access to wetlands and prairies. In addition to a wide range of migratory waterfowl, this area provides excellent viewing opportunities for a variety of prairie species including dickcissels, bobolinks, grasshopper sparrows and eastern meadowlarks. Shingle Oak trail primarily spans woodland habitat and is a good choice for viewing neo-tropical migrants as well as a variety of summer nesters. The Weapons-to-Wetlands trail features an overlook that provides excellent viewing for migrating waterfowl in the spring and fall as well as a variety of raptors in the winter months. The 3.5 mile Trestle Trail, completed in September 2009, spans prairies, upland forests, open water and a riparian corridor. (special note: For individuals who might be concerned about visiting a former uranium foundry, be assured that the property has been cleaned to standards established by site neighbors and nearby communities. These standards were approved by both the U.S and Ohio Environmental Protection Agencies as being protective of human health and the environment.)

Directions:  Fernald Preserve is located northwest of Cincinnati at 7400 Willey Road, Hamilton, Ohio 45013. From downtown Cincinnati, take I-75 N to I-74 W (toward Indianapolis) to Exit 7, SR 128 (Hamilton-Cleves Highway). Travel north on 128 through Miamitown for 7 miles to Willey Road. Turn left on Willey Road for ¼ mile to the Fernald Preserve access road.