True Facts: Where Have All The Fireflies Gone!

Thank you:

Barber, Herbert Spencer. 1951. "North American fireflies of the genus Photuris." Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 117, (1) 1–58.

Sarfati R, Hayes JC, Sarfati É, Peleg O. Spatio-temporal reconstruction of emergent flash synchronization in firefly swarms via stereoscopic 360-degree cameras. J R Soc Interface. 2020 Sep;17(170):20200179. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2020.0179. Epub 2020 Sep 23. PMID: 32961095; PMCID: PMC7536049.

[Dragoniangirl]

My mother noticed that she wasn't seeing as many fireflies as she used to. So she stopped getting her leaves cleaned up in the fall and just left them in the yard. This past summer she's got so many fireflies in her yard.

[brandoncastellano]

I’ve been saying for years that there are less fireflies than there used to be. People have just been saying I don’t go outside anymore. Now I know both are true!

[CG_Hali]

We let almost an acre of grass grow wild into a meadow. Fireflies were barely visible at the edges of the forest before, now they thrive in front of the house as well on summer nights. The meadow really brought up the diversity. We have bats, salamanders and a whole lot of species who need that type of environment.

[raskal]

i remember growing up and seeing hundreds of fireflies everywhere. when the sun goes down and the fireflies start popping out, you know it was getting late... but we played and ran around and we had nothing to worry about. life was simple then. good times.

[noonespecial]

I've been saying this for YEARS. People give me so much shit for leaving lightning bugs places to live, food to eat and being positively militant about turning outdoor lights off. The same people who rolled their eyes and laughed at me come up to me and say "dang you just don't see em anymore"
UGH

[sierrajohnson]

I used to be so confused at cartoons that showed kids with tons of em, jars full, as I’d never seen one. Two years ago, in my 20s, I finally saw some. I thought I was seeing things but there were three total and I realized it was THEM and I was so in awe

[BertRowe-bl]

My parents did nothing but mow the grass in our yard (about half an acre, one edge bordered a lake). All our neighbors were buying fertilizer with included weed killers, insect killers, slug killers, you name it. The neighbors had perfect green lawns, we had some grass but also a couple of colors/types of clovers and violets, dandelions and a number of less pretty "weed" species.
In June, all the neighbor kids came to OUR yard to look at (and sometimes catch) fireflies because there were few or none in their parents yards.

[tammygant]

This script and the delivery are GOLD!! And I love fireflies so this was a win-win-win!

[Tsukaiyo]

And remember - you can support struggling species like these by planting native in your own yard!
Native plants:
- Don't need fertilizing
- Don't need weeding
- Don't need watering once they're established (water them for a month or two after planting, then you're good!)
- Don't need replanting
- Don't need special treatment at all - they're built to grow right where you are
- Support biodiversity: all the fireflies, bees, butterflies, birds and more!
- Can help get your garden fruits + veggies get pollinated by attracting pollinators

Just be sure to plant what's native to YOUR area! Don't just buy wildflower mix - those usually are native to somewhere, but rarely to your location

[RiverRoller]

Catching lightning bugs was one of the highlights of my childhood. It was so much fun to watch them light up and then lose sight of them only to realize they were inches from your face. We would catch as many as we could then release them all at once. I'm 45 now, and barely see them anymore. It's great to see others who actually care about the little flying glowsticks.

[chuckMvideos]

There's less insects PERIOD in general. Windshields used to be absolutely covered in bugs a couple decades ago. Now it's like they don't even exist!

[russmaddoxak]

All insects have drastically reduced in numbers. Here in Alaska we couldn't leave doors or windows open for long or the cabin would fill with bugs until recently. On hot days we had to vacuum windowsills they were so thick. We used to have to stop every 20-25 miles driving on the highway in the summers to clean the piles of dead bug goo off of the windshield and wipers. The difference is like night and day from 20 years ago.

[kuckoo]

Never thought I'd ever hear that fireflies were disappearing. Growing up in Missouri in the 70s and 80s, during summer early evenings they were absolutely everywhere. We loved them.

[kareningram]

No pretense at all, just launches right into "here's something we need to save." I love how much your channel has evolved over the years. Thank you for being an advocate for conservation. And you're still funny as hell.

[TheLoneGamr]

Fireflies are a yearly thing where I live in North Carolina. Then the city sold off land with a forrest across from my house to build apartments.
Now fireflies rarely are seen. I miss them.

[Wjunk]

I was just walking through the woods a few days ago and they were EVERYWHERE, like I was actually surprised how many there were

[SteinbergerGPPRo]

There's a field near my house that the owner left fallow for a few years. And it's absolutely packed with fireflies in the middle of summer. Just goes to show you it doesn't take much more than giving them the right environment to thrive in to make a positive change.

[cody]

The last Forth of July before my mom past away, we didn't watch the fireworks but rather the fireflies. That memory of seeing them dance while sitting with her is all the reason in the world to save them so that _everyone can enjoy the dance of the fireflies_

[slickmystic]

So happy to see this. Anyone advocating for fireflies is a hero.

[UmatsuObossa]

The red and blue fireflies are so rare many don't even know they exist. I saw a BUNCH of red and blues one night when I was a kid. It was spectacular.