Firefly's......am seeing more of them, but not as when I was a kid......

[a kennedy]

you could damn read a book by the light of firefly’s back then……ok, ya couldn’t read a book, but dang there were ton’O flys then. Remember??? Now…..so happy when I see 5 - 6 of them.

[AllaN01Bear]

1. howdi.

in 1969 ,when i was on a kid... i was on a train going to mexico city. we were on the inland side of the gulf of ca. there was a hurricane and we were getting its effects with the water up to the wheels and the ac and one of the locs shorted out. in the meantime the porter came and ushered us kids to the platform of the car and we peered out into the vastnes and saw flikering lights. mom said they were fireflys. never seen em since.

[unblock]

2. They've been on a slow decline towards possible extinction, but

this year has been good for them. I heard it's mostly wet weather which they thrive in.

[Botany]

3. Protect and build the habitat for their larva and pupa ... when you see them flashing that is after a year or

two of their lifecycle. When they are flashing they are no longer eating or drinking anything
They flash, have sex, and die
Plant Native plants
Reduce the use of insecticides
And turn off all those outdoor strings of lights …. That screws with their reproduction

Fire flies or lightning bugs are not flies or bugs. They are beetles.

Xerces society has good information about fire flies

[Marthe48]

9. We stopped spraying our lawn years ago

and about a year later started seeing more fireflies, in our yard. I was out with my daughter a couple weeks ago. On the road from her house, there were a lot of them rising. My daughter drove really slowly trying to avoid hitting any. I was watching for deer. lol

[Botany]

12. Those outdoor (especially LED strings) lights are real killers to lighting bugs. They are sometimes at the ....

same wave length of the flash of lighting bugs and fool them when they are looking for love.
Planting natives and leaving areas that are “messy” helps in their life cycles.

https://xerces.org/endangered-species/fireflies

Xerces does great work in invertebrate conservation.
Their attracting native pollinators is a great book.

[Marthe48]

13. My yard resembles the edge of woods

I have 5 big trees, a lot of unkempt bushes, and several weedy spots. There are some grassy areas. but also scrubby spots. Our area is basically sandy, and I'm grateful for anything that flourishes, except poison ivy. I am the only person in view who has a natural yard. It's what I want and I want it like that for the wildlife the golf course yards are edging out.

[Silent Type]

4. Rural Georgia was full of them in 50s and 60s. Almost better than snow.

[Farmer-Rick]

5. I have a ton of them in my back field

I didn't mow it this year yet. Mostly because I was trying to save it for the Monarchs.

Fewer people have wild fields for them to thrive in. You have to cut the fields every now and then to keep the cedars and brambles from taking them over. It's not just a matter of letting them grow.

[electric_blue68]

6. Are you still seeing them now (earlier that evening) I'm in an ALP in The Bronx w a nice backyard, and I saw them...

a few weeks ago! Got a video on my cellphone. 🥰

[True Dough]

7. Fireflies still make me stop in wonder

I marvel at their flickering light. The numbers in our area aren't bad, but not as plentiful as last summer.

What I have noticed fewer of is dragonflies and crickets. There were not many of the former around last year but there were plenty of the latter.

[Marthe48]

14. We don't have as many moths

The little ones people call millers. It used to be if I turned on my porch light, the screen would be filled with moths in a few minutes, now very few. I miss the diversity of the bugs. Basically have wasps and gnats :/

[True Dough]

15. Those damn wasps

are like terminators. I let them be if they don't get into our screened porch where we like to while away some leisurely hours. They are pollinators, after all. But if they get into our enclosed space, someone has got to go and it's not going to be us! But they aren't easy to get rid of.

[Marthe48]

16. I wish they weren't so aggressive

In the springtime, when they're looking for nesting spots, they are unpredictable. I've been better about forcing them out of the house, but my grand kids are sensitive to their venom, so if I have to, I protect the kids. I used to be scared of trying to kill wasps, but not so much any more.

[Nittersing]

8. Butterfly Pavilion first to complete lifecycle of a Colorado firefly under human care

"Researchers said the breakthrough moment came with the emergence of a female firefly born and raised entirely under human care at Butterfly Pavilion.

After mating with wild-collected males, the female laid viable eggs. On July 19, one of those eggs hatched into a tiny larva, confirming successful reproduction and marking the completion of the full firefly lifecycle in captivity — egg, larva, pupa, adult — a feat accomplished by only a handful of institutions across the globe, researchers said.

“This is more than a research milestone. It’s a breakthrough that opens the door to restoring firefly populations across the American West and beyond,” said Rich Reading, Ph.D. Vice President of Science and Conservation at Butterfly Pavilion. “Fireflies capture imaginations, and they also tell us about the health of our planet. This moment proves we can take action to help safeguard their future.”

https://www.9news.com/article/life/style/colorado-guide/butterfly-pavilion-lifecycle-firefly/73-dce3478a-8362-475a-b08d-bf569691d71e

https://butterflies.org/butterfly-pavilions-firefly-project/

This news just came out a couple of days ago... so pretty timely.

[Marthe48]

10. Hi and Lois

I vividly remember a cartoon, where Hi and Lois are in their bedroom, door ajar, but the room is dark. Next panel, a flash of light and the room is completely illuminated. Third panel, Hi says, "How many lightning bugs did the kids catch?"

I remember catching them when I was a kid, and letting them go. I was happy if they flashed in my hand. There were only a few insects I didn't mind handling: June bugs, Lady bugs, locusts, grasshoppers, crickets, and Daddy Long Leg spiders.

[Delarage]

11. Saw a lot in Dover, DE

Off of Rt.9 behind the Dover AFB. I had to pull over and film it!

[ArnoldLayne]

17. You mean Lightning Bugs.