Urban sprawl is diffusing fireflies
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The magical glow of fireflies ignites a sense of nostalgia. The flash of lights on a warm summer night is a true love language.
“There are actually different patterns of flash,” said Virginia Tech Entomologist Eric Day.
Each flash pattern is species-specific. Day said in Virginia there are about 20 species, and the most common is often called the “fish hook” because it appears to make the letter ‘J’ with its light as it flies up down and around the night sky.
“The females flash back from the ground, and so that’s that’s how boys meet girls,” Day said.
But the blinking beetles may find it hard to “hook up” in your backyard this summer,
as urban sprawl is diffusing their light.
“Once you get some development — housing developments, commercial retail developments, highways, all those kinds of things — they tend to take out those good habitats,” Day said.
Fireflies like a lot of plant diversity and low lying areas — think fields and streams.
As many as one-in-three species in America is threatened, though Day said extinction is not a concern.
In southeastern Virginia, the Great Dismal Swamp is swimming in them, and their lights still shine bright in rural areas all across the state.
If you want to see more close to home, consider mowing less and using fewer or no pesticides.
Fireflies are not only pretty to look at, he said, they provide a balance for the ecosystem. They are a predatory insect that feeds on things like slugs that are pests in your garden.
“Maybe it’s also a good call to say, ‘Hey, kind of slow down and spend some time outside and watch for them,'” Day said. “It’s a great time of year to do that.”
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