No More Lightning Bugs?

If you are something close to my age, you probably remember catching lightning bugs (fireflies) on those lingering summer evenings.  Chasing them around, catching them in cupped hands, and peeking between your fingers to see that eerie glow.  My older brother used to collect them in a jar, where their intermittent flickering was enough to light up the area where we were sitting on the grass.

If you’ve been wondering why you don’t see as many lightning bugs these days, an article in today’s online publication Axios Richmond confirms that you haven’t lost your mind; the first headline in today’s edition is ”Lightning Bugs are Vanishing.”

Before we go further, you need to know that I’m settling on the term “lightning bugs” instead of fireflies or whatever term you may have used.  We used “lightning bugs,” so that’s their name. 

The article cites a study reported last year by the Washington Post that roughly 1 in 3 lightning bug species found in North America is facing extinction.  I did not know there were different species of lightning bugs. 

The biggest issue is the loss of habitat.  The conditions they need to thrive – cold winters, hot and humid summers, damp areas with a variety of native plants or brush, and dark nights – are rapidly disappearing.  Commercial and housing developments — building on the land where lightning bugs once flourished — are the chief culprit behind their dwindling habitats.  Highly manicured suburban lawns, the pesticides and chemicals that help keep them that way, and the ever-present intrusion of artificial lights, also contribute to the destruction of their one-time homes.

The article ends on a reassuring note – “it’s way too soon to sound the extinction alarm for these luminous insects.”  They’re still all around us if we know where to look.  Rural Virginia, particularly along roads that flow lakes or creeks, is a good place to start.

The article links to a longer piece that spells out what you can do to help lightning bugs survive as a species by creating the right environment in your own backyard, like leaving a section of lawn unmanaged, turning off outside lights, and laying off pesticides.

If you want to return to those glowing evenings of your childhood, you can attend the annual Firefly Festival at High Bridge Trail State Park near Farmville, VA (southwest of Richmond).  This year’s dates are June 14-15, from 9-11 pm.   Here’s the agenda for this event.

This is the “high bridge” — 25 feet above the Appomattox River — that gives the park its name.