Atlanta project invites the public to help study fireflies

A time lapse of fireflies is shown in Atlanta. A community science initiative this summer, the Atlanta Firefly Project, aims to help figure out which places are good for fireflies, which are bad and how what humans do affects the insects. (Chandler Coats, via the Atlanta Firefly Project)

Georgia is rich in fireflies. At least 15 different species occur in Atlanta alone. Dozens more live around the state.

Beyond the familiar big dipper fireflies — those are the ones that people have fond childhood memories of, coming out around dusk, the males flashing their yellow lights while they hover in the yard – there are fireflies in Atlanta that glitter after dark in the treetops; there are synchronous fireflies here that flash together; and a species that hovers just above the ground, glowing continuously, rather than blinking at all.

While some people may feel they see fewer fireflies than they used to, for the most part, scientists don’t actually know how firefly populations are doing.