YMMV but i still see lots right around dusk at the edges of wetland areas. Not denying they are threatened but there are still some places they are able to live and those places should be protected. Wetlands do a lot more for us ecologically and hydrologically speaking than just fireflies anyway and are one of the most important ecosystems to be protected.
Comment on I'm not okay.
floo@retrolemmy.com 1 day ago
They were everywhere when I was a kid. I haven’t seen one in years.
They were so delightful, and I miss them.
FireRetardant@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Sc00ter@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
We just moved to a house with over an acre and a creek that runs through the back yard and we have them all over the place right now.
My dog had never seen them before and i caught him this week trying to eat them. One would flash and he’d chomp towards it, then another would and he seemed confused on how it got over there so fast and hed chomp that direction. It was precious
Rose_Thorne@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
I have cats just under a year old, this is their first summer with eyes open. We’ve had a few get into the house, and watching then go nuts once they notice this weird flashing bug has been the highlight of my night lately. All 5 of them running in a little pack, eyes wide. Every time they light up, all the cats stop and just stare. It blows their little minds, and I love it.
BossDj@lemm.ee 1 day ago
Sweet little murder beasts
Devadander@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Don’t rake your leaves
rumba@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
They were everywhere in the mid-Atlantic 20 years ago.
I saw one little blinky buddy on my back door last night. I looked out, he was the only one. I shut my porch light off in hopes that he would wonder off and find some friends.
floo@retrolemmy.com 1 day ago
I mentioned in another comment that it must’ve been 8 to 10 years ago when I was sitting in the backyard of some bar in Brooklyn, the middle of summer, that I saw the last one. And I was sitting with a bunch of friends, and I pointed out that it was the only one, and that this might be the last one any of us ever see.
Now I made myself sad
AFaithfulNihilist@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I’ve seen two this year.
I’ve seen More bald eagles land in the yard year than I have seen lightning bugs.
neidu3@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
I don’t think I’ve ever seen one, mostly down to the Latitude I live at.
2009 radio compensated for it heavily, though.
floo@retrolemmy.com 1 day ago
I’ve only ever seen them at sea level, in warm and humid places, usually during the middle to later months of the summer.
For context, I grew up in the 80s and 90s as a kid, and that’s when you used to see a lot of them. But ever since then, they become rare and rare. I knew that, eventually, they’d probably go extinct. I realize this back in the 90s or something.
If I really think about it, the last time I saw one might’ve been between eight and 10 years ago. And I only saw one. And I was sitting in the backyard of a bar in Brooklyn, during a very hot humid summer night after it had been raining, and I was sitting with a bunch of friends and then mentioned to them that this may be the last firefly you ever see.
I really am sad that was right
jol@discuss.tchncs.de 1 day ago
How often are you in a place and time and state of mind to stop and see the fireflies though? The problem is both ecological and cultural IMO.
floo@retrolemmy.com 1 day ago
I don’t think my state of mind has anything to do with whether or not I see fireflies, but the times and places I go haven’t really changed over the last 15 to 20 years. The number of fireflies I see at those times and in those places, on the other hand, has dramatically changed.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz 1 day ago
I don’t think I’ve ever seen one. I now feel sad that I may never.
A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I stopped mowing super regularly and my yard is full of em
Let the weeds grow
wise_pancake@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
Same
They’re back, and they’re happy with my new of a lawn.
I don’t think my lawn will ever look like a golf course, there was an above ground pool at one point so one area is packed densely and full of gravel sized rocks.
We threw down some clover, there’s wild strawberry, one spot has mint (I’ve been told trying to remove it is a sisyphusian task). It’s cozy now, and I guess the fireflies like cozy, and I like watching them from my patio.
BossDj@lemm.ee 1 day ago
This is fantastic and good advice, but I also remember them in great numbers 20+ years ago, and people were mowing their lawns then, too.
mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
Mowing isn’t the issue; Raking leaves is. Fireflies lay eggs in the fall, on dead leaves. Since suburban HOAs require leaves to be raked and trashed, it removes the fireflies’ breeding grounds. If you don’t like leaves on your lawn, just fucking mulch them with your lawn mower instead of raking them. A perfectly raked yard is an ecological wasteland.
sigmaklimgrindset@sopuli.xyz 1 day ago
I think a lot more people use weed killers and other pesticides in their yards than previously as well, since they’re more commercially available. We even have “summer subscriptions” in my city for this (yeah, I know, ugh). I finally stopped using that stuff on my yard and I have a lot more critters in it than my neighbours.
titter@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Is the rocky area underperforming in terms of growth? Consider xeriscaping! Use drought and heat tolerant plants like succulents to fill in and color up an otherwise uninhabitable area
wise_pancake@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
Definitely underperforming.
I let the plants that do grow there go to seed and it’s filled in a bit, but it’s not great.
I’m in Ontario and I don’t know if succulents will work, but I like them and can look into it.
mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
Yeah, fireflies lay eggs on dead leaves. The ultra-clean suburban yards are killing firefly populations, because people keep raking up the fireflies breeding material and throwing it away in plastic trash bags. A perfectly kept lawn is an ecological wasteland, and suburban trends have expanded that wasteland for miles at a time. It’s no wonder fireflies have struggled to survive.
Want to see fireflies? Stop raking your lawn. If you don’t like the way the leaves look, mulch them with a lawn mower early in the season, so they can blend in with the grass. But don’t just fucking rake them up and throw them away.
Zink@programming.dev 8 hours ago
Just the other day my son was chasing the fireflies in our front yard.
…That front yard I was feeling bad about not mowing because the weeds mixed in with the grass quickly grow tall flowers above the head.
I think I want to keep helping those blinky-bois.
A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 8 hours ago
There are SO MANY DAISIES everywhere! I can’t wait to see what happens with a little more effort on my part
shoo@lemmy.world 1 day ago
While it’s better than keeping a barren monoculture lawn, keep in mind that letting things grow with no intervention will get you a lot of invasive species. If you want healthier habitat for your critters try to keep an eye on what’s growing and replace the bad stuff with native options.
bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 8 hours ago
I have a bit flat yard i don’t use and I hate boring grass. I want part of it to just grow. Would you recommend dig up the current grass and throw some native seeds out, or just let the grass and plants grow themselves and weed anything bad out (like creeping jenny)
shoo@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
Depends on if you have a healthy wild source that can seed itself in. My woodline is almost entirely invasives so it took more legwork to balance it out. I ended up mostly planting small trees/shrubs to shade out the weeds and letting Virginia Creeper spread (love that stuff).
Barring that it probably depends on yard size and local climate. Might be more economical to clear with a sod cutter or spot weed + replace.
Check for local native plant orgs, they can get you plants in bulk. They might also have specific advice, for example if you need to avoid seeding certain plants to protect a vulnerable local species.
A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I’m working on it :)
entwine413@lemm.ee 1 day ago
That’s not true for my yard. My calculated neglect results in an extremely drought tolerant yard of native species.
jumping_redditor@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
problem: the bad plant is native, and phototoxic
lightnsfw@reddthat.com 1 day ago
Yea, theres a big overgrown patch behind the house and we have them all over. It’s nice to see. I like to sit out and watch them while the sun goes down. It’s relaxing. Theres a bunch of other critters that come out around that time to so it’s interesting. I watched a couple of raccoons take apart my neighbors bird feeder last night.
Another bug I haven’t seen in forever is grasshoppers. I used to catch buckets of those things when I was a kid and I don’t think I’ve seen more than a couple in years.
A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Yeah i don’t see many grasshoppers either. Some, but very few.