They were everywhere when I was a kid. I haven’t seen one in years.
They were so delightful, and I miss them.
I stopped mowing super regularly and my yard is full of em
Let the weeds grow, let the forest in. I’m in the Smokies fwiw
Same
They’re back, and they’re happy with my mess of a lawn.
I don’t think my lawn will ever look like a golf course, there was an above ground pool at one point so one area is packed densely and full of gravel sized rocks.
We threw down some clover, there’s wild strawberry, one spot has mint (I’ve been told trying to remove it is a sisyphusian task). It’s cozy now, and I guess the fireflies like cozy, and I like watching them from my patio.
Is the rocky area underperforming in terms of growth? Consider xeriscaping! Use drought and heat tolerant plants like succulents to fill in and color up an otherwise uninhabitable area
Definitely underperforming.
I let the plants that do grow there go to seed and it’s filled in a bit, but it’s not great.
I’m in Ontario and I don’t know if succulents will work, but I like them and can look into it.
While it’s better than keeping a barren monoculture lawn, keep in mind that letting things grow with no intervention will get you a lot of invasive species. If you want healthier habitat for your critters try to keep an eye on what’s growing and replace the bad stuff with native options.
I’m working on it :)
Just the other day my son was chasing the fireflies in our front yard.
…That front yard I was feeling bad about not mowing because the weeds mixed in with the grass quickly grow tall flowers above the head.
I think I want to keep helping those blinky-bois.
There are SO MANY DAISIES everywhere! I can’t wait to see what happens with a little more effort on my part
You and I and others like us, we can help.
YMMV but i still see lots right around dusk at the edges of wetland areas. Not denying they are threatened but there are still some places they are able to live and those places should be protected. Wetlands do a lot more for us ecologically and hydrologically speaking than just fireflies anyway and are one of the most important ecosystems to be protected.
Don’t rake your leaves
I’ve seen two this year.
I’ve seen More bald eagles land in the yard year than I have seen lightning bugs.
Fight this by not bagging your leaves. Leave some for our buddies! https://blog.nwf.org/2024/09/leave-the-leaves-to-save-fireflies/
Stop raking your leaves
Y’all have trees?
You can get them fresh from the factory. Sure, they need 96 batteries each, but beats all that nasty wood and bugs.
It’s easier just to buy my air from O’Hare Air.
My kid saw bottled oxygen at a sporting goods store and said it was dumb. Then he asked if we could buy it. $20!!! For a 25(?) oz bottle.
Yes and I planted some of em :3
Upon further investigation, it appears that only SOME species of fireflies are at risk of extinction. Others are so common they are of “least concern”.
If foreign propaganda bots are bombarding us with doomer memes to instill apathy and depression in the younger generation, this fits.
Maybe, but I haven’t seen one in decades in our area. Used to see them every summer. I’ve thought about that for a while, even before this.
Used to catch them growing up. There would be thousands of them periodically blinking in the yard and across the field every night. It was pretty and serene.
I saw one just the other night when I let my dogs out before going to bed. It was so surprising that I had to wait a minute and verify I wasn’t just seeing things. It was a real life lightning bug. It was a happy sad moment.
I can’t remember when I last saw fireflies. They used to be quite common 25 years ago when I was a kid. Damn, time flies and I’m getting old. And fire apparently doesn’t fly any more.
Damn, fireflies too?
Firefly == lightning bug
Fireflies are fascinating and beautiful creatures. Another user mentioned donating to xerces society which is a great idea. Another thing that you can do if you are fortunate enough to own land is to replace your lawn (non-native, mowed grass) with native plants and leave the fallen leaves undisturbed.
I replaced my entire lawn with species native to my region and my entire yard is currently covered in multiple species of fireflies. It’s so magical to see all the different colors and flashing patterns. Mind you, I live in the city so it’s only my yard that is really providing for them. All my neighbors’ yards have either no fireflies or a few.
You don’t have to replace your entire lawn like I did. Just setting aside some space for our wildlife neighbors is better than nothing. Remember plants are the foundation of almost every food web. For me, it’s magical to go outside and see the new blooms and growth, look for new creatures that show up, and just walk the little paths in my small yard. In an age of ecologic collapse and climate change it gives me some sense that I can have a measurable, positive impact and that really helps me mentally.
Source? :(
Please I need to know!
PS: Donate to them.
This is kind of wild to me. This year we’re seeing more fireflies in my yard than we have in a long time. My husband and I have been commenting on it. At night there’s an awesome light show and it’s kind of awesome. Whatever is happening in my neighborhood they definitely like!
Over the weekend I saw an incredible display of the blue Ghost Firefly right up in my face while camping in Pisgah. What a thing. I have been reforming my entire yard to facilitate insects. This year I did have a significant amount of fireflies compared to years past. Things can change and get better. They might not, but we might as well try for good.
I saw lightening bugs for the first time in years when I moved to the east coast. I was so excited, I caught some and brought them inside to show my cat (I let them back out of course). Next year, nada. So far this year? Also nada. I even made a point to leave the leaves. 😔
The dad then joins his son laying on the floor and crying
One night in ft Gordon we were doing an FTX and we got out there late and set up the tents in the dark, n in a field of tall grass. No sooner than the tents were set up, an intense rainstorm came through and dumped a metric fuckton of rain in 15-20 minutes. And as quickly as it started, it was over. Afterwards there were so many fireflies it looked like a fantasy movie. I had never seen anything like that. I’ve been all over the world, hell I grew up in Boulder, on of the most beautiful places on earth, but I’ve never seen anything even close to that. It was absolutely magical. And my kid gets so excited to see 2 or 3 and it makes me want to cry.
It was only a few, but, I did see some while camping this weekend.
I had wondered why we always seemed to have some fireflies here and it turned out my hatred of raking and leaving the leaves under the bushes helped a lot!
I convinced my inlaws to stop bagging or raking their leaves a few years ago, and they’re everywhere now. Not as many as if the whole neighborhood has done it, but more than when I met them.
