Are Fireflies Disappearing?

_Elsa_

‘You may have noticed you haven't seen as many fireflies on these summer nights as you used to. Are they disappearing? Here's what's going on and what you can do to help them make a comeback.

Many of us have great memories of watching and catching fireflies on warm summer nights. Remember sitting out on the patio and watching them light up the back yard? One would call, and another would answer, all via light. But lately, especially here in Maine, you may have noticed the numbers are declining. You’ll maybe see one or two. Are fireflies disappearing? Will the magic they bring to our warm evenings soon be gone forever?

Turns out, firefly numbers are decreasing all over the country and all over the world. According to Ben Pfeiffer of Firefly.org, most of us are seeing a decline in numbers of the Big Dipper firefly (Photinus pyralis) due to several factors: light pollution, pesticide use, and loss of habitat from development.

Fireflies are picky about where they live and many are not able to recover when their habitats are destroyed or rearranged. So what can you do to help fireflies make a comeback?

Help Fireflies Make A Comeback - Here are a few things you can do to help fireflies in your area. According to Firefly.org, you can:

• Install water features in your garden.

• Allow logs to rot. Fireflies spend up to 95% of their lives in larval stages. They live in rotting logs, soil/mud/leaf litter and spend from 1-2 years growing until finally pupating to become adults.

• Turn your lights off at night (lights can confuse them when they’re trying to mate).

• Refrain from using lawn chemicals.

• Plant a garden! Gardens are meccas for fireflies, helping to replace lost habitat. They also supply fireflies with lots of food sources. If you have garden snails, slugs, worms, and other insects, fireflies can lend a hand by helping to control these pests. Plus, females need a place to lay eggs and gardens offer an oasis with a source of soil moisture for larval development.

• Plant trees and native grasses.

• Don’t over-mow your lawn.

• Don’t rake leaves and bag them up for the trash. You are raking up firefly larvae and discarding them.’ (Source)

Yeti hasn’t heard back from Tiffi yet so he calls her.

“Hi Tiffi, so what’s going on with us getting together to look for these lightning bugs?”

Tiffi apologizes that she didn’t get back to him. Yes everyone is interested but she has been so engrossed learning all about these little bugs that it slipped her mind to let him know. 

“Please forgive me Yeti for not calling you back,” says Tiffi. “When do you want to get together? Ok let’s split the list of phone calls. Let’s do this during the weekend, maybe Saturday night. How does that sound?”

Sounds like a plan!

Let’s continue - Firefly vs. Lightning Bug: Is There a Difference Between the Two?

Start at the beginning – Tiffi learns all about lightning bugs