PENNSYLVANIA, USA — When you think of a summer evening, you often envision the tiny lights from fireflies dancing in your yard. Whether you call them fireflies or lightning bugs, you may be noticing less of them than you used to.
There are multiple reasons why this is happening, according to Dr. Casey Sclar, H.O. Smith Endowed Director of The Arboretum at Penn State.
“The finger is pointed sometimes at light pollution. But it’s also often pointed at our use of pesticides.”
Sclar says that irrigation trends and housing development are also reasons why you could be seeing less fireflies. Consequently, some firefly species are quite endangered.
“It’s something where we need to pay attention in order to preserve and conserve that resource," Sclar explained.
In an effort to better understand firefly trends, one group is encouraging people to get outside and count the insects. The Firefly Watch Project with Mass Audubon is asking for citizen scientists to count fireflies where they live and submit the data online.
“The protocol’s really simple," says Alex Dohan, Firefly Watch Project coordinator. "You go out once a week for as long as you can or want to in the summer and do three, 10 second counts in one location looking for fireflies.”
Dohan encourages people to do this once a week in the same spot, though even just a week or two of data is appreciated.
This project is also a great way to involve kids in a summertime science project.
“It’s a great way to have kids come out because as soon as they count they can start helping with this project," says Dohan.
Along with participating in the Firefly Watch Project, there are numerous things people can do to help protect fireflies. This includes avoiding using pesticides in your yard, limit the lights you have outside, and planting native flowers and trees to provide fireflies a natural habitat.
Fireflies provide numerous benefits to our environment. Experts hope that greater awareness of this issue will help in their conservation.
“It’s become more obvious and more and more people are learning that as the climate changes, various habitats become more threatened," Dohan told FOX43. "And going out there and investigating raises awareness and it gives folks a sense of belonging, which makes them want to care for a place. Whether it’s your backyard, or a neighborhood park, or maybe you’re just looking out your windows and you can see fireflies.”
It’s not too late to help in data collection.
Pennsylvanians are encouraged by experts to start collecting and submitting their firefly counts at any point this summer.