In Georgia And Around The World, Fireflies Face Threats

Pesticides, loss of habitat and too much artificial light at night were the main problems identified for the 2,000 or so species of fireflies around the world. Those first two threats are problems for all kinds of insects. Light pollution is a special kind of challenge for fireflies, since their blinking is linked to finding a mate.

art farmer / wikimedia commons

Are summer evenings not quite what they used to be, with a cicada soundtrack and a view full of lightning bugs?

It’s a question Tufts University biologist Sara Lewis said she gets a lot.

“It’s really, really one of the things that, as firefly biologists, we hear most often, from people we’re sitting next to in airplanes, or whatever,” she said, “There’s a lot of rumors flying around; a lot of people are noticing fireflies are disappearing. They’re not seeing fireflies where they used to see them.”