Man, the death of fireflies is the death of wonder. They were one of the few actual joys of growing up in the countryside.
I love lightning bugs! Luckily I still see a lot of them in my backyard every year. Fewer than there used to be, but still a lot. I really hope they can be saved.
Aside from negative nature consequences caused by humans, they also eat themselves…so yea…sad.
Turn out the lights y’all, talk to your neighbors about their exterior lighting, call your electric companies and ask them to put diffusers on those bright led street lamps, and talk to your electeds. The night and its creatures deserve their time of day. Climate change is exacerbating everything, but we can try to make it more liveable for the night dwellers.
Also leave portions of your yard undisturbed year round. Leave those leaves in your garden and spray them down with the hose every now and then if they get dry. Also run all those “mosquito control” companies out of town, because they’re killing all the insects on all the properties around wherever they spray
It’s been years since I’ve seen them. They used to always come out around this time of year when I was a kid, but it feels so rare to see one anymore.
At an old job I had, there was this garden-like section of this courtyard area people would take smoke breaks in. They had a special breed of grass planted there that seemed to attract the fireflies, and I guess it works because they’d actually show up to that little patch of garden almost year-round. I wish I knew what type of grass it was; I’d totally buy some seeds and do some guerrilla gardening around my apartment complex to bring back some fireflies.
Did they have a fountain or pond in the courtyard? We have an above ground pool and are one of the few neighbors with fireflies in our yard. We also have a lot of native flowers though so maybe that helps
There was a pond nearby, but the fireflies would usually gather pretty far from it. I’m pretty sure it was the grass that they were attracted to, but I didn’t consider the flowers! There were a few bushes that I recall, though I can’t remember what type of flower they actually had. But I do remember them being really pretty in the springtime, but that’s not really a helpful description lol.
I remember growing up with them regularly in Florida late 70’s/80’s. Don’t remember seeing them much after that. Then delighted to see them when I was living in Pennsylvania 2010-2020. Im in TN now and saw very few here this summer. Was wondering if it’s the heat?
I was days from signing to check to remove a couple trees in my yard in Pennsylvania when I stepped out back one night and saw dozens of fireflies in them. I hadn’t seen fireflies in years and decided then and there that the trees had to stay.
Also, a note from other comments, I absolutely never rake my leaves
Also the weird fixation with perfectly manicured lawns with absolutely no debris and no plants touching any other plants.
They like to lay their eggs on leaves and grasses on the ground. Doesn’t mix well with lawn mowers and rakes.
I used to mow my parents property, and I would leave about 1/4 acre unmowed on the side, touching the treeline. They had so many fireflies hanging around the tall grass over the summers.
This summer I moved too far to keep mowing, and they don’t leave anything, and have been complaining they haven’t seen any fireflies all summer.
Good point about the tall grasses.
I saw none this year for the first time
c/collapse
