Are Fireflies Disappearing?
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.
Do you remember those warm summer nights, when the patio was the perfect spot to catch and watch fireflies lighting up the entire backyard? Their lights sparkled and twinkled in the dark, as they communicated with each other through light signals. But lately, their numbers have been dwindling, especially here in Maine, and you may be lucky to spot even one or two. Is it possible that fireflies are disappearing? Are we in danger of losing the spark of fireflies 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.
Check out these fascinating facts about fireflies.
What about where you live? Are you seeing the same number of fireflies as you used to, or are you seeing a decline? Tell us in the comments below.
This article was published by the staff at Farmers' Almanac. Do you have a question or an idea for an article? Contact us!
- Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
- Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
- Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
- Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
I do not see any fireflies and have not for many many years.
As a kid in the 1950’s I lived on the western outskirts of Minneapolis, MN. At night you would see hundreds of fireflies, and Night Hawks would be dive bombing the skies for mosquitos; now all you have are mosquitos. I’m a retired Delta pilot, and light pollution has defiantly grown exponentially over the years, along with the use of lawn chemicals. Back in the 50’s, when we still had push mowers with no motor, many lawns were clover that grew to 4″ max, so you only had to mow a few times each summer. But then the fad became perfectly groomed golf course lawns, where the mowing and chemicals are much of the problem. Clover, besides being maintenance free, makes it’s own nitrogen, and out competes weeds and other grasses. The clover flower is also a favorite for bees, which helps plants and trees pollinate. Nature can take care of its self, if the 8+ billion human inhabitants understood nature.
In Maryland we miss having the trees twinkling with life.
😢
I live in Hooksett,NH and they’re are tons of them in our back yard this year. they made a comeback here. We have several rotting trees in the woods
Lucky! They are such a sight to see! I saw one last night here in Maine. Used to see hundreds!
Here in Lichfield, New Hampshire we haven’t seen them for years.. until last night I saw a few for the first time. I used to sit with my dogs who loved watching them so much. That was really lucky!! I do hope they’ll stay. They’re so beautiful and the world would be more sad and dark without them
I am fairly certain it has been at least 25 years since I have seen a firefly… Until tonight! There had to be hundreds of them in my backyard. I have never seen so many at once. Beautiful. Eerie. Ah, I live in Oklahoma City, BTW.
YAY! We love that you were able to see them! They sure are gorgeous!
They are just gone…here in Springfield Missouri…not dwindled…gone…seems like just a few years ago I remember them lighting up the backyard there were so many…the backyard environment hasn’t changed…something else is causing it.
It sure is sad. We used to have huge fields of them here in Maine. You would drive by and see hundreds. We still have them, but usually only a few at a time.
I live in Alabama. We’ve always had many, many fireflies in early May. This year, with the cicadas out, I’ve not seen a single firefly. Have no idea if its related but, makes me wonder. 🤷♀️
Where I live in KY, they are almost gone. I can remember as a kid there was a huge red clover hayfield in front of our house, and it actually looked like a city in the summer, just covered with fireflies. Recently, most all bugs are having a similar fate, at least here. They are just about gone. And this has happened in the last two years!
There are so many lightning bugs out tonight. They are flying really high at tree top level. Maybe all the tree pollen has them busy eating! I’ve never seen them flying so high up in the sky.