Eight months after Hurricane Helene devastated areas of North Carolina, locals hope their rarest residents – glowing "blue ghost" fireflies – can help bring visitors back.

If you walk quietly through the woods of western North Carolina any time from now until mid-June, you may catch a glimpse of an eerie sight: dozens, sometimes hundreds, of tiny blue lights floating silently along the forest floor.

These are Phausis reticulata, known as "blue ghost" fireflies; a rare species of bioluminescent beetle that can only be found in the Southern Appalachian mountains. Their emergence, and that of their flashy relatives Photinus carolinus, commonly known as the Smokies synchronous firefly, draws thousands of people to the area each spring.

Asheville, a small artsy city in North Carolina, is a key gateway for firefly watchers, offering access to nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pisgah National Forest, DuPont State Recreational Forest and a few other heavily wooded areas in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. But this year, the glow carries added meaning. In September 2024, the remnants of Hurricane Helene tore through the region, causing widespread flooding that destroyed homes and businesses and inflicted an estimated $53bn of damage across North Carolina. Though Asheville officially re-opened to visitors at the end of last year, tourist numbers have yet to rebound entirely.

Now, locals hope that this year's firefly season can help put the city back on the map.

"Fireflies are really important [to tourism here], and while we have sold out now for most of our experiences, that would have [usually] happened months ago," said Nicolle Will of Asheville Wellness Tours, which leads immersive firefly and wellness experiences. "We were still down 70% when we reopened in November, comparing it to the same period [in previous years]."

There are more than 2,400 firefly species around the world – at least 10 of which are native to this region – but blue ghost fireflies are the rarest. Like all fireflies, these tiny beetles use bioluminescence to attract mates. Blue ghosts, however, emit a continuous blue light instead of the more intermittent bright-green flashes of common fireflies. Synchronous fireflies, meanwhile, coordinate their flashes, temporarily lighting up the forests with their display. Fireflies have........

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