Fireflies?

[traderdan]

It does seem to me that as the years go by there are fewer and fewer fireflies. Anyone else notice this or is it just my imagination?

 

[Mike H]

I saw a ton of them last night.

 

[possum_128]

This is Indiana, we call them lighting bugs. And to think you are from Morgan county, calling them fire flys what's up with that?

You are right though. Used to be a lot more around when I was a younger.

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

I'm in the city but I think you're right . Come to think of it I can't remember the last time I saw a bee either .

I know they're dieing but it's weird to not see them around here anymore .

 

[eldirector]

Feels early for them yet. More of a mid/late summer bug (I think). We see tons in July and August.

 

[woowoo2]

I have tons of them in my back yard, they seem to like the garden.

 

[DBoller]

We had tons of them out last night.

 

[TR1032]

Saw a few last night. There seems to be more of them out in July and August, but not as many as there used to be.

 

[AGarbers]

If I remember right they need moist forest litter/rotting wood areas along streams and ponds to breed. The drought last year may have had an impact on their populations.

 

[rgrimm01]

I have seen a few in the evening. As stated above, I always notice them in numbers when the beans are well established.

 

[Josh Ward]

This is Indiana, we call them lighting bugs. And to think you are from Morgan county, calling them fire flys what's up with that?

^^^ THIS ^^^

Little early for lightening bugs yet, there are a few around, but there be more in a few weeks

 

[Titanium_Frost]

The last couple years I actually saw a few down in Evansville. The previous years I hadn't even seen one so for me they are slightly increasing.

I was down in KY last weekend and there were plenty in the woods.

 

[churchmouse]

My yard is alive with them. Grand daughter and the neighbor kids have been chasing them the last 2 nights. Great fun to watch.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Don't confuse reality with through-the-looking glass remembrance of childhood...

Remember, your father was a lot bigger when you were a child, too.

-J-

 

[cosermann]

Depends where you live. If you live in an area where they spray for mosquitoes (like a city) you won't see many, if any - kills the fireflies/lightning bugs too.

Many species live in marshes or in damp wooded areas where their larvae have abundant sources of food - so the habitat of where you live plays a role too.
They hibernate over the winter - so winter weather can play a role.

So, it depends.

They're by no means endangered. Some evenings during the summers when we lived in the Spencer area a few years ago were amazingly beautiful with fireflies.

 

[Bucky623]

If I remember right they need moist forest litter/rotting wood areas along streams and ponds to breed. The drought last year may have had an impact on their populations.

During the drought last year I remember seeing only a few fireflies and thinking it might affect their population for years to come. I also remember thinking the same thing about mosquitoes but they seem to have rebounded nicely.

 

[shibumiseeker]

All insect populations are cyclic, some years you will have more than others and it can vary by an order of magnitude and factors can vary by location as well.

Don't worry about the fireflies, they are doing just fine.

 

[traderdan]

Nice to know some of you see plenty...The last few years living in the country here in Morgan Co. it seemed to me that these insects were few.We have had serious infestations of "lady bugs" that were orange.

 

[treeman22]

thousands of them near me. I think it depends a lot on how the property is managed. I would imagine heavy use of fertilizer/pesticides on your lawn would decrease the populations.
Also, predators such as starlings, which love to eat every insect in your lawn, probly decrease the population as well. But i'm no expert on lightning bugs.

 

[AtlasDM]

I'm glad I'm not the only one around that misses seeing all the lightning bugs. I was just telling a friend that when I was a kid there were so many more than there are now. I always figured they were thinning out because of pesticides and the like. I thought the same for bees too.