r/interesting • u/brainland • 24d ago

NATURE Seems we are the last generation to witness fireflies. When last do you see them?

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I was thinking about these bugs few days ago and I struggle to remember when last I saw them.

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u/_trashcan 24d ago

I’m 31.
When I was a kid I’d go catching them every summer w my brother. Loved seeing them. They were all over.

I saw a couple random fliers earlier this summer, but that’s it.
I only remember bc it was the first time in awhile, & the only time I’d seen them this year so far. Just a couple in my front yard.

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u/closetedmfer 24d ago

you and your brother single handedly decimated the population /s

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u/alghiorso 24d ago

A literal grave for fireflies

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u/Sweet_Unvictory 23d ago

You dare....

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u/dum_spir0_sper0 23d ago

Same. The hospital I worked in years ago was a hop, skip and a jump from my house… right through a huge park. So I’d choose to walk home in summer and I would see hundreds of fireflies. And that was only a small percentage of what I’d see as a kid in the early 90s.

Now I think I’ve seen two, MAYBE three this year. It’s such a bummer, as they were one of my favorite parts of summer.

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u/GrumpyMcGrumpyPants 23d ago

I spent summer evenings catching fireflies as a kid but they became rarer and rarer in the area. I recently moved to a different neighborhood within the same county and was delighted to see a healthy population of fireflies.

I was less delighted to find several inside my bedroom as it means (1) I need to figure out how TF they're getting in and (2) my cats will bounce off the walls chasing them.