Fireflies

Fireflies come out at dusk and mesmerize and delight us with their flashing lights.  These beetles have been around for 100 million years. More than 2,200 species are found on every continent except Antarctica.  In North America alone there are nearly 170 different species of flashing fireflies. 

Despite all their success as a species, in recent decades fireflies have been disappearing from many of the places they once called home.  Like other insects they are threatened by habitat loss and pesticide use.  However, they are also uniquely vulnerable to the harmful effects of light pollution, and it may be one of the main causes of their decline.  Research shows that artificial light at night makes it harder for fireflies to see each other, interfering with their reproduction.  Light at night causes female fireflies to stop flashing and when the males don’t see any response flashes they start flashing less.  When fireflies don’t flash at each other, the courtship process is broken, and they don’t mate. Research is also showing that light at night may cause temporal disorientation which interferes with the firefly’s circadian rhythm tricking male fireflies into thinking that the time isn’t right for courtship.  Light at night also makes fireflies more vulnerable to predators that would normally be repelled by their light.

You can help the fireflies in your backyard.  Fireflies typically won’t fly on nights with a full Moon or in brightly lit neighborhoods or backyards.  We can’t do anything about the Moon, but we can turn off all the lights around our houses, in our gardens and in our yards. We can choose to protect the fireflies and do our part to stop their decline.  We can help make sure that future generations continue to enjoy fireflies dancing in the night. If you would like to learn more about fireflies join us at our Firefly Festival on June 28, 2025, from 7:00PM-10:30PM.