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/-titi- 24d ago

This right here. How is there so little discourse in this thread about how to support their life cycle? Leave the leaves in your yard. Have to creat an environment that supports them.

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u/Cinderhazed15 24d ago

We mow with a really high deck height, we alternate mowing our front and back yards on opposite weeks (or less frequently if rain/growth allows), never clean up leaves over fall/winter.

We have tons of them, central PA. Our daughter was out catching some this season and putting them in her ‘bug cage’ she got… we had her leave it open out in the yard so they could go free on their own.

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u/Away-Living5278 24d ago

I have them in suburban MD but omg, I was in South Central PA a few years ago and the fields were just COVERED in lightning bugs. It was possibly the most amazing scene I've ever witnessed.

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u/wutwutsugabutt 24d ago

I would go just to see the fireflies

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u/thought_youd_stop 23d ago

go camping anywhere in June and you will see thousands blinking at dusk.

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u/publixpharmer 23d ago

It’s crazy that we’re now having to travel to see fireflies.

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u/wutwutsugabutt 23d ago

I live in the Bay Area now and I don’t think they ever lived out here. I grew up NYC and miss those little whimsical magical bugs. Enough to brave the swampy east coast summer to go see them.

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u/wutwutsugabutt 23d ago

I lived in Louisiana for a few years about 20 years ago and supposedly that’s their habitat too but the mosquito spraying killed them, that was very sad overall, to see none where they should have been. I could be wrong about that being their habitat though.

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u/Ordinary-Salt-3174 21d ago

Same!! I lived there in the 90’s and only saw them visiting my family in the Midwest! I literally searched about it as I passionately argued with my husband about how seeing them in movies of the south was just Hollywood magic but learned it was exactly because of all the fogging they did at the time! Had no idea but I 100% remember the foggers driving through regularly but I hear they’re making a comeback and I hope I get to visit and see them thriving! 💡

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u/K9Partner 24d ago

I saw them visiting Central PA a few years ago. We were staying in a cabin out in the woods, could see a few each night around dusk, so cool

Unfortunately never saw a single one anywhere near town or neighborhoods. He grew up there, & used to watch whole fields of them right out the back porch every season

Im from LA/Cali & never saw one in my life til i visited a friends' family in Indiana - near Bloomington maybe? Just like hubby described, at dusk the yard & fields were sparkling with glimmering bug disco

Stunning, core memory for sure, but that that was back around 2002. I Always hoped to experience that again, glad there's people working to bring it back (even just one yard at a time)

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u/Individual_Bell_4637 24d ago

Was in Nebraska not long ago, similar experience. So many that I had to chase some out of the camper.

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u/Redheaded_Potter 23d ago

What part of Ne? That might be close enough I could take kiddo to see it!

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u/Individual_Bell_4637 23d ago

I was in Sherman County, Loup City. There's a restaurant/motel there, the front lawn was littered with them. The woman who ran the place told me most late June/early July seasons are like that.

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u/Cinderhazed15 24d ago

The best is they live the trees where I live, must be their refuge from all the lawns

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u/4x4Welder 24d ago

I used to mow on the second or third highest setting and overseeded with clover. It takes less water to stay green, the pollinators love it, and so do the rabbits.

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u/brianwho420 23d ago

The house I grew up in, The Philly burbs. We had an acre. Ton of clover in the back yard. Two different neighbors had multiple bee hives. Pollinators everywhere. Rabbits everywhere. We would pile the leaves at the back of the yard by a patch of would. Fire flies everywhere in the street summer time. Miss those days.

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u/Arkroma 24d ago

Great way to learn about bugs and the responsibility to let them go

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u/TheReiterEffect_S8 23d ago

Is it possible to do this if you’re the only yard in your neighborhood doing it? I would absolutely do it but if it isn’t enough this I don’t wana be the only guy where it looks like he isn’t taking care of his lawn, lol

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u/Cinderhazed15 23d ago

Depends, I don’t live somewhere with an HOA, but also I’ve always kept a high deck height, and everyone is always like ‘your yard looks so healthy!’ And the next thing they say is ‘you need to cut it shorter!’ And they have no realization that the two are related….

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u/Giffordpinchotpark 23d ago

We don’t have an HOA where we live and we can do pretty much anything we want to. I take care of our 5 acres and it’s nice and green with lots of insects. It’s the Evergreen state. We have a well so I water all day every day. I visit my daughter in Texas and they have an HOA and it’s terrible.

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u/TheReiterEffect_S8 21d ago

Do you know high your deck height is?

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u/Cinderhazed15 21d ago

I’ve never actually measured it, I have a push mower, and I do set it about 2/3rd of the way across its full range. Tall enough that one of our low cut stumps was always able to just clear the blades, and we didn’t bottom out on most irregular sections of the yard… I can go out and measure it from if you’d like?

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u/TheReiterEffect_S8 21d ago

Ha, thats kind of you, but I was only curious if you knew the height. I'm going to start cutting my grass with a little higher height to see how that looks. Thanks for the suggestion

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u/megaholt2 23d ago

Yep! My parents do this with their yard-mow once every week or two, keep it fairly long, plant native plant species & wildflowers, lots of clover, and mulch the leaves in the fall and leave them as ground cover.

They still have tons of fireflies in their yard, even at this point in the summer. It’s wonderful to see!

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u/BrotherChe 23d ago

be the change

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u/Bluesy21 23d ago

Same here in western NY. Fireflies seem to vary by year. This year wasn't great, but some years it's like a laser light show out there. They seem to peak around early July here and dwindle from there. Folks can look up why, but I feel bad for the ones that are still out there now.

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u/dankinator87 23d ago

I let them out in the house when I was a kid

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u/NationalStrawberry73 23d ago

I also have a ton of them around my house in central PA but my parents in Grantville don’t seem to have any. They mentioned not having any the other day. I didn’t realize this was actually an issue lol.

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u/Dogg-Dad 24d ago

I normally don’t do anything with my leaves and have hundreds of fireflies. This year, at the beginning of spring, I had a leaf fire by accident. I had almost no fireflies this year.

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u/FrequentTopic446 24d ago

Half of my apartment back patio is dirt and this year mint decided to move in and I let it because I never go out there and keep the blinds closed everyday due to it being a west facing window and I don’t have ac. Was worried for a while where all the bees had gone that I always have to duck to avoid when leaving out my front door past the flowering trees….. turns out they’re all out on my back patio thriving with all the flowering mint!

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u/HillBillyHilly 23d ago

No AC? Where is this paradise where you don't need AC ? I'm in So and you just can't live wo AC. I'm so sick of this heat!

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u/FrequentTopic446 23d ago

Seattle, we need it now but our buildings are from a time when we didn’t need it

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u/Bobinct 23d ago

I knew my laziness was part of something bigger.

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u/Familiar-Solid7744 24d ago

You dont have to create it. You just have to leave nature alone.

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u/144_Hertz 24d ago

Try telling that to my mom 🤣

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u/Jolly_Condition_9194 23d ago

I live in an apartment, I don't have my own yard. They were hanging out all over the screen on my sliding door this year though.