But have you considered that instead of fireflies, we have HOAs that will fine you if you don’t fact a perfect lawn?
i didnt need to be sad rn
Hey folks, it’s easy. Leave your leaves in the fall. It will take two years of this. The first year they’ll nest there the next they’ll hatch. I’ve been doing it for two years and have more. Especially my front yard where I’ve never seen them before.
Also, the other day I saw one in a spider web and it flashed back when I put my flashlight on it. (Which is really sad lol.) I did it a second time to check and it did it back a second time. Definitely wasn’t coincidence. So all the talk about lights on in your house absolutely is true and it probably confuses them. To the best of your ability turn off lights or at least close curtains and blinds. Definitely turn off porch lights.
They’re magical. The sounds and sights of a summer evening are truly an enchanting experience. Especially after dealing with a stupidly hot day lol.
Google windshield effect or windscreen effect for real doomerism.
Oddly this year they are really prevalent in my area. In prior years I haven’t seen nearly as many.
I’m intentionally avoiding lawn treatments and insecticides this year. I love my yard, but I’m also thinking about switching to clover.
I moved to Minnesota in the early 2000s and was blown away by all of the fireflies. It was magical. I’ll never forget snuggling up with someone and watching the fireflies during a thunder storm.
The decline was unbelievably rapid. The last 6 years I was there I’d maybe see one or two the whole summer. If that.
It’s so sad because they’re truly wondrous creatures.
They got Roundup
GUYS GUYS I CAME BACK TO THIS POST BECAUSE THERE IS A FIREFLY IN MY BEDROOM!!(I rarely see it theese days but it’s here now)
Over the weekend I saw an incredible display of the blue Ghost Firefly right up in my face while camping in Pisgah. What a thing. I have been reforming my entire yard to facilitate insects. This year I did have a significant amount of fireflies compared to years past. Things can change and get better. They might not, but we might as well try for good.
I saw lightening bugs for the first time in years when I moved to the east coast. I was so excited, I caught some and brought them inside to show my cat (I let them back out of course). Next year, nada. So far this year? Also nada. I even made a point to leave the leaves. 😔
I don’t even see butterflies anymore. Sad.
I have probably seen a total of three bees in person in the past 10 years.
Our planet is dying in front of our eyes.
How fucking depressing is it. Meanwhile, republicans are doing everything they can do fuck us over even more.
What are you doing about this? All I see is people posting complaints like you are, and massive protests being completely ignored by everyone. Republicans only respect violence, and the left doesn’t value violence so we are left looking like limp impotent bitches.
But it all isn’t real because sometimes its still cold
Plant milkweed and don’t touch your dead leaves!
I have no yard, so no can do.
Steal one, then turn it into a bug factory.
I haven’t seen a butterfly during most of my teenage years but have seen a resurgence last few years because gardening as a hobby became huge for mothers and young adults alike.
My mother used to have a small but lushful garden when I was a child but she wasn’t able to maintain as many plants because busy and budget.
Me but with ladybugs
Now you remind me I haven’t seen a ladybug in probably more than a decade
I saw more this year than previous years. I wonder what legislation passed locally
Man I feel lucky, there are a ton of lightning bugs in my yard
There’s so many here at the Rustbolt homestead.
It’s like Lampyridae Ft. Lauderdale.
This is kind of wild to me. This year we’re seeing more fireflies in my yard than we have in a long time. My husband and I have been commenting on it. At night there’s an awesome light show and it’s kind of awesome. Whatever is happening in my neighborhood they definitely like!
It’s likely because of the recent storms causing damp leaf and damp vegetation clutter, which is what they like to hide in during the day, where they lay eggs, and where they live.
You clearing your yard of all the leaves into non-biodegradable plastic bags into the dumpster and having an ugly as fuck monoculture grass lawn isn’t helping these insects recover from being at risk of going extinct.
I have participated in No Mow May for three years now. I also have a spot in the yard I let be free (weeded it for invasives) for the same amount of time.
This summer, for the first time since I have lived here, exsists an abundance of fireflys in my yard. They are everywhere, in a way I’ve never seen since I was a child.
No Mow May, (even if just a part of your yard) gives insects a place. Bugs live in the leaves and natural debris, by keeping it undisturbed, from fall to winter is important for many bugs’ survival.
If you like bugs, consider dedicating space in your yard for them to live. Don’t keep grass in the typical american perfect lawn way. I suggest not to spray, and look at native grasses and plants first when seeking your landscaping needs.
I’ve noticed a real difference this year in my yard. Maybe its some coincidence, I don’t know. Either way I’m happy to see lightning bugs again
It was only a few, but, I did see some while camping this weekend.
Same, been camping twice this summer and both times I was taken aback and both seeing them (it’s become so rare), and how few there were. Used to be swarms of them in my backyard, not I go camping just to see 3 of them.
Well at least we’ll still have lightning bugs, right.
