How to save fireflies
- The Bethany Beach firefly is under threat
- FIrefiles themselves are dwindling
- Using less pesticides can help
A long exposure photo shows a swarm of fireflies at Longgang Trail in Keelung on May 7, 2024.
ovp test
Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment
Class to create biodiverse backyard
Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting
(NewsNation) — If fireflies could use a wish right now, it may be for you to help prevent their extinction.
According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Bethany Beach firefly — found in coastal Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware — is nearing endangerment.
The release says climate change and its associated effects are the largest factors behind the threat, including rising sea levels and the frequency and severity of storms.
Other impacts, or “stressors” on fireflies’ existence are light pollution, pesticides, horse grazing, and various plants.
The lightning bug, as it is also known, is facing a widespread population decrease with scientists noting the factors above as to why.
However, there is only so much that can be done from a human level.
“They’re too important for us to lose, but they’re too small for us to notice,” Sergio Henriques, invertebrate conservation coordinator at the Indianapolis Zoo, said in July.
Reducing the use of pesticides and keeping outside lights off when unnecessary, or even using yellow lights; the least impactful upon insects.
