Where did all the fireflies go? It's not too late to help them

Why thousands of fireflies put on a magical light show each year

FILE VIDEO: For the synchronous firefly, what appears as a dazzling spring and summertime spectacle is largely a courtship ritual.

With the arrival of summer, many recalling childhood memories of watching fireflies blink across a dark landscape might be wondering, where did all the lightning bugs go?

According to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, there are more than 2,200 firefly species around the world and about 165 in the U.S. and Canada. 

An assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found that one in three of the assessed North American fireflies could be at risk of extinction, and additional 2021 research shows that 14% of assessed firefly species may be at risk of extinction. 

However, firefly research is extremely hard to conduct, and more data is needed to fully understand the threat to fireflies. Organizations like the Firefly Atlas are seeking citizen scientists to help to survey the 13 threatened species. 

But the answer as to why you might not be seeing them anymore is closer to home. 

"Only a fraction of firefly species are truly considered endangered or threatened and yet we have a ton of anecdotal evidence from people saying that they're no longer even seeing these," said Danae Wolfe, the insect photographer and author behind the backyard conservationist website Chasing Bugs.

Wolfe said some of the most famous fireflies are known as the Big Dipper and the synchronous fireflies native to the Great Smoky Mountains and Carolinas. 

Big dipper fireflies.

In May, Wolfe published her book called "Grass Isn’t Greener," which includes things everyone can do in their backyards to support the critters that live there. These suggestions aren’t full landscaping projects or even major changes. 

She said it comes down to understanding the firefly lifecycle. Like butterflies, these beetles go through metamorphosis and have four stages, beginning as eggs, and then spending one to two years as larvae. After the larvae pupate, they emerge as the flashing beetles we know and love – if they make it that far. 

A firefly pupa.

(Danae Wolfe/Chasing Bugs / FOX Weather)

"They’re vulnerable because we’re not stewarding our landscapes that help them thrive," Wolfe said. 

The No. 1 problem in many suburban landscapes is light pollution. It’s a problem for more than fireflies. Artificial light all night long is bad for birds, turtles and if you are hoping to watch a meteor shower.

A firefly habitat sign.

(Danae Wolfe/ Chasing Bugs / FOX Weather)

Wolfe explains fireflies need darkness and about 99% of Americans live under light-polluted skies. 

"Turning off the lights can really help them because, again, our flashers, they need that darkness to find a mate," Wolfe said. "We're hitting fireflies like every stage of their life."

Females look for cool, damp and dark environments to lay eggs like a pile of leaves or rotting logs.

Wolfe said another way we can help is by leaving our yard waste.

"When we rake up all the leaves out of our yard in the fall, we are raking out and getting rid of prime firefly habitat, particularly where they spend that larval stage of their life. To add insult to injury, we tend to treat our gardens with a lot of pesticides," she said.

If you’re taking notes, here are three things you can do to help fireflies: reduce light pollution, leave your leaves and stop using pesticides. 

"The good news is once you implement some of these changes, you should start to see fireflies return," Wolfe said. "It won't be overnight. It might be a couple of years."

What time of year do lightning bugs emerge?

Fireflies are also heavily impacted by the weather. Temperature, rain and drought can influence when fireflies emerge and their overall life cycle. 

Experts use temperature to predict when synchronous fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains will emerge in late May or June. Likewise, rain and drought can impact how soon they begin appearing. 

Catching fireflies.

(Danae Wolfe/Chasing Bugs)

"They’re trying to plan these big tourism events so they use three days to predict their emergence so if it's very cool in the spring, you're going to see probably a later emergence of the fireflies in the summer," Wolfe said. "If you have very hot dry weather it may impact their ability to complete their life cycle so you may see fewer of them if you very, very rainy it could impact them. So it's all connected."

The other thing to know is that not all adult fireflies light up. If you’ve never seen one, it’s likely you live west of the Mississippi River where fewer species of these charismatic beetles flash to find a mate.