Oakland Nature Preserve Firefly Walk - 2024/04/10

Theresa saw on Facebook that the nearby nature preserve had a bunch of fireflies coming out this time of year. The preserve is right by the kids gymnastics, so we stopped by!

We love Fireflies! We just finished watching The Princess and the Frog which featured so many fireflies in the Louisiana Bayou! I'd love to see some of that here in Florida!

It was suggested to arrive by 7:30pm. We finished gymnastics and dinner and showed up at 7pm. Plenty of parking then.

With our giant truck, we parked facing outward in the overflow lot.

This way to the self-guided Firefly Walk! 

At the start of the trail is an information guide plus a volunteer.

Facts about fireflies.

 Did you know they're a beetle and that they taste horrible? Wonder who tested out that one.

The boardwalk leading to Lake Apopka is clean and beautiful.

We found lots of these black grasshoppers. Can't say I've seen a black grasshopper before.

But there were thousands!

No hopping. Just crawling along. 

Once we got to the lake, there were a couple people already there. We heard a mama gator in the weeds grunting to her babies that were playing near the boardwalk. 

As dusk fell, the fireflies started coming out! Along with all the mosquitoes! Theresa (who they happen to love) has at least 12 bites! Even through her clothing! 

The star of tonight's attraction. Difficult to get a good picture in the low light. 

Thank you Fireflies for your nightly performance! 

The boardwalk and parking lot was slam packed by the time we left. Looks to be a very popular event! Hopefully it's be a good fundraiser for the park!