Fireflies are completely magical and they appear in my home state of Alabama at this perfect junction between late spring and early summer right before the mosquitos have become HORRIFIC and Zika ridden. They do this magical mating dance, flying upright, arms and leg out, in sometimes synchronized motions, flashing their little lights down to the ladies who wait in the grass. When a lady firefly sees the fittest beau to procreate with she responds in kind and there you go. BUT DID YOU KNOW…there is a particular type of firefly, we will call her the Femme Fatale, who after she has had her steamy encounter will remain unsatisfied and thirsty for blood. She will in fact, mimic the flash of an unsuspecting firefly fella of another flavor, lure him in and right before they copulate she grabs his little head and bites it off. She eats him whole, stealing his light and energy in order to continue her murderous bacchanale. Karma has a way of leveling things out though. Unlike her fellow species of firefly, this particularly murderous and luminous babe lacks the chemical makeup needed to prevent her from being lunch for jumping spiders.

10’’ x 8 ‘’

Watercolor on paper

Dabbs Anderson, 2022