Wednesday, February 17, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Tales from a
Sisters
Naturalist
by Jim Anderson
Bioluminescence
in the West
Every once in a while
— and often enough that
it leaves me feeling like a
dunce — I meet up with
something in the world of
nature I didn’t even have a
clue existed. Like that click
beetle with headlights.
It came about it in the late
’70s thanks to a high school
kid in Sierra Vista High
School in southeast Arizona,
when I was manager of
Ramsey Canyon Preserve.
The Preserve was then the
“Hummingbird Capitol of
the World,” nestled in the
Huachuca (Wah-choo-kah)
Mountains just north of
Bisbee.
Leonard Taylor and my
son Dean got to be pals as
they walked up Ramsey
Canyon Road from where
the school bus dropped them
off. Leonard lived at the
mouth of the canyon, while
Dean lived with Sue and me
in the manager’s house at
the upper end of the road.
Leonard was, by birth I
think, a most curious young
man, and his dear parents
did nothing to discourage
that intense desire to know
who and what was where in
the Huachuca Mountains.
(Leonard’s gone on to
become a leading author and
contributor of field guides to
the backcountry of southeast
Arizona with his “Trails of
the Huachucas”).
All this led to the phone
ringing on a delightful sum-
mer night.
I picked up the receiver,
and without fanfare or intro-
duction a voice shouted,
“Jim! Ya’ gotta’ come down
here right now and see what
I’ve found!” I recognized
the voice and started to ask
Leonard what it was that he
was so excited about, but
all I heard was a definitive
“click.”
I shouted to Dean and
Sue, “I just got a call from
Leonard, and he’s got some-
thing-or-another by the
neck, or it’s dragging him all
around the yard!” With that,
we jumped into our old VW
camper and took off down
the road.
When we rolled into
Leonard’s yard I could see
someone with a flashlight
bent over in the shrubs,
either following or chasing
— or being chased — by
something. “Well it doesn’t
Starts
Friday
Fri., Feb. 19 – Thurs., Feb. 25
Feb. 17 / Wed. / 7 PM
Tommy Castro &
The Painkillers
Fervently delivering driving,
blues-soaked, soul-baring
music to fans all over
the world.
Feb. 27 / Sat. / 8 PM
Brothers Comatose
with The Easy Leaves
Known nation-wide for lively,
high-energy performances.
Mar. 11 / Fri. / 8 PM
Race (PG-13)
Fri 4:15, 7:00
Sat 1:45, 4:15, 7:00
Sun 1:00, 3:30, 6:15
Mon-Thurs 3:30, 6:15
Zoolander 2 (PG-13)
Fri 5:00, 7:30
Sat 2:30, 5:00, 7:30
Sun 2:00, 4:30, 6:45
Mon-Thurs 4:15, 6:30
How to Be
Single (R)
Blue-eyed cajun roadhouse
soul by one of America’s true
blues/roots originals.
Fri 4:45, 7:15
Sat 2:15, 4:45, 7:15
Sun 1:30, 3:45, 6:00
Mon-Thurs 4:00, 6:15
Mar. 23 / Wed. / 8 PM
Hail Caesar (PG-13)
Randy McAllister
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look too big to handle…” I
said as we piled out of the
VW and charged across his
lawn toward the waving
flashlight.
“It’s over here,” Leonard
shouted, and over “here” we
went.
“Look… look,” he
shouted again, “Right there!
It’s got lights!”
Sure enough, as we all
got closer to the object he
was holding the beam of
the flashlight near we could
see a tiny yellowish light
moving on the back side of
a yucca leaf. But as we got
closer the one light became
two, and as we finally closed
in on Leonard’s creature
it turned out to be an adult
click beetle with headlights
on its thorax.
“Holy cats! “I thought.
“Fireflies I know — but
lighted click beetles I do
not.”
The fireflies of my child-
hood days back east were
always a delight, and it
never even occurred to me
that, right off the start, the
very name was incorrect.
Fireflies are NOT flies, they
are BEETLES. Just like the
old saying, “Not all insects
are bugs, but all bugs are
insects.”
Lightning bugs are not
“bugs” either, they’re also
in the zoological order,
Coleoptera: beetles, but
commonly called “fireflies”
or “lightning bugs” for their
13
photo by Jim anderson
Surprise! a click beetle that glows in the dark!
conspicuous use of biolumi-
nescence: capacity to cre-
ate chemical light, a “cold
light,” without infrared, or
ultraviolet frequencies.
There are about 2,000
species of fireflies found
in temperate and tropi-
cal environments, many in
marshes or in wet, wooded
areas where the larvae have
abundant sources of food.
The larvae emit light and are
often called “glow worms.”
OK, I knew about “glow
worms,” but had no idea
there are so many species
of fireflies, not to mention
glowing click beetles.
There was a really great
exhibit at the High Desert
Museum last June that Sue
and I missed; it took place
right at the apex of our
golden eagle fieldwork.
The exhibit explored how
and why some living organ-
isms produce light through
a chemical reaction in their
bodies.
Visitors learned about
a chemical process that
produces cool light and
explored the world of light-
producing terrestrial organ-
isms like fireflies, glow-
worms and fungi — and
I missed it all. Weep, oh
weep!
With our Earth warming,
and Mexican birds and but-
terflies fluttering all about
Texas, New Mexico and
Arizona, it my not be too
unrealistic to start looking
around on the coming sum-
mer nights to see if there are
any bioluminescent insects
wandering around Sisters
Country, lighting things up.
Live Entertainment, Arts & Special Events
Wed.~Feb. 17
The Belfry Live Music
with Tommy Castro & The
Painkillers 7 to 10 p.m. $20
online at bendticket.com or
$25 at the door. Irresistible
contemporary blues-rock. For
more info: belfryevents.com.
Friday~Feb. 19
FivePine Conference
Center Annual Sisters Area
Chamber of Commerce
Awards Ceremony 5:30
to 8:30 p.m. $35 per person.
Purchase tickets in advance
at the chamber. For more
information: 541-549-0251 or
jeri@sisterscountry.com.
Saturday~Feb. 20
Sisters High School 5th
Annual Sister Science Fair
noon to 4 p.m. Free for all
ages! The event is sponsored
by the Sisters Science Club,
featuring experiments, 3D
printer, planetarium, robots,
inventions & more! For info:
sistersscienceclub.org.
Sunday~Feb. 21
Sisters Community Church
Annual Mr. SHS Pasta
Feed 6 p.m. It’s the annual
fundraiser for Sisters FAN, with
dessert auction, and auction
for services provided. Just $5
per person (under 5 free). For
information call 541-549-4045.
Monday~Feb. 22
Friday~Feb. 26
Sisters High School 19th
Annual Coffee House
Benefi t 7 to 9 p.m. Art demos,
silent auction, hands-on
stations, live entertainment
and more from SHS students!
$5 entry goes to SHS arts
programs & scholarship. For
more information contact
Bethany, 541-549-4045 x1012.
Cork Cellars Live Music!
7 to 9 p.m. No cover! For more
information call 541-549-2675
or go to corkcellars.com.
FivePine Conference
Center Sisters Christian
Academy Annual Benefi t
Auction 6 p.m. Silent, live
& dessert auctions, hearty
appetizers & no-host bar.
Incredible auction items!
$30pp or $325 reserved table
for 10. 541-549-4133 or info@
sisterschristianacademy.com.
Tuesday~Feb. 23
The Belfry Sisters Science
Club Lecture 6 p.m. Jon
Renner presents “Science &
Saturday~Feb. 27
Society.” $5 (free to students,
teachers & club donors). For
Sisters High School Sisters
additional information go online Folk Festival Winter Concert
to sistersscienceclub.org.
with Bumper Jacksons
7 p.m. The hot and sweet
Wed.~Feb. 24
sounds of America’s story. For
additional information or tickets
Sisters High School Gym
call 541-549-4979 or go to
“Concussions in School
sistersfolkfestival.org.
Sports” 7 p.m. Retired
neurologist Dr. Robert Collins
Caldera Arts Center Open
will speak, sponsored by the
Studio at Blue Lake 1 to
Sisters Science Club & SHS
3 p.m. Free to the public. Meet
Athletic Dept. Free and open
the Artists in Residence! For
to all; required for athletes &
more info go to calderaarts.org
families in SHS spring sports.
or call 541-595-0956.
For additional information call
The Belfry Live Music with
Tim Roth at 541-549-4045.
Brothers Comatose and
Deadline to submit items
The Easy Leaves 8 to 11 p.m.
for the Events Calendar
$15 online at bendticket.com
is 5 p.m. Fridays. Email
or $18 at the door. Americana,
teresa@nuggetnews.com
folk & bluegrass from this
5-piece string bad. For more
information go to belfryevents.
com or call 541-815-9122.