Fireflies will still light up summers, despite a decline in diversity
Image
Screenshot of a TikTok post taken July 17, 2025
Similar posts expressing concern about extinction gained traction across platforms in July 2025, coinciding with the height of the insect's season in North America, where they are mainly observed between the months of May and September.
While climate stressors on certain firefly varieties exist, others have adapted well to urban habitat changes, making it unlikely that they will disappear by the end of the century, scientists say.
"In short, no, we will not be the last generation to see fireflies," Clyde Sorenson, a professor in the department of entomology and plant pathology at North Carolina State University, told AFP July 16, 2025 (archived here).
There are over 2,000 species of fireflies, found on every continent except Antarctica (archived here).
Crepuscular fireflies, such as the Common Eastern firefly, continue to proliferate in big eastern US cities, as they adapt to ambient light and may thus be more resilient to light pollution (archived here).
These are what we call habitat generalists, Sorenson explained. By nature, they are highly adaptable species (archived here).
Varying adaptability
What is at risk over the next generation, however, is firefly diversity, scientists say.
Many species that are habitat specialists -- rather than generalists -- live in ecosystems that have been significant human caused changes. They can face threats to their ecosystems due to human development, pesticide use, light pollution, climate change and natural disasters.
"Species which use coastal marshes or mangroves could be displaced as sea level rise eliminates their habitats," Sorenson said.
This is the case for the rare Bethany Beach firefly, endemic to Delaware wetlands (archived here and here).
The Bethany Beach firefly is the first of its type to be proposed for listing as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act, a federal law enacted in 1973 to protect species of fish, wildlife, and plants, as well as their habitats, from extinction.
Rising sea levels, in addition to more frequent and severe storms, threaten to degrade and eventually destroy their habitats, with the majority of the Bethany Beach firefly population likely to be lost to high-tide flooding by 2100, according to climate models (archived here and here).
"The greatest threats to the Bethany Beach firefly are the compounding impacts from climate change on habitat availability," the US Fish and Wildlife Service said in a September 30, 2024 statement (archived here.)
Three main threats
other species of fireflies have also been petitioned to be listed on the Endangered Species Act: the Florida intertidal firefly, the southwest spring firefly, the mysterious lantern firefly, and the loopy five firefly. Some are currently under review for acceptance, but none is currently listed as of July 2025.
Candace Fallon, a senior endangered species conservation biologist at the nonprofit Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, told AFP that at least 18 species of fireflies in the United States are at risk of extinction (archived here and here).
"Up to a third of firefly species may be at risk once we compile enough information to conduct a thorough assessment of data deficient species," she said
Sarah Lower, a biologist at Bucknell University, told AFP that it is essential to consider "the greater likelihood of losing" local firefly populations due to human developments and changes in ecosystems (archived here).
"If the field next door becomes a paved parking lot with streetlights on all night long," and if that area "represents the last remaining population of a particular species, then that species could go extinct," she explained July 16.
Lynn Faust, an advisory consultant on firefly studies with US state and national parks, agreed (archived here).
"Fireflies have many, many challenges in today's world. Habitat destruction from development is one of the biggest," Faust, who has studied fireflies for 35 years, said July 17.
She added, however: "My personal experience is the fireflies are doing very well as long as the three things I mentioned above are not happening to their habitat."
Individuals can contribute to firefly conservation by maintaining native vegetation on their properties, limiting the use of insecticides and reducing night-time lighting as much as possible (archived here).
AFP has previously written about other claims misconstruing the impact of changes in climate and human pollution on species and ecosystems.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
17 hours ago
- Euronews
Is the Japanese walking trend backed by science?
A fitness routine developed by Japanese researchers in 2007 has recently found fresh legs on TikTok, where it's being promoted as an enjoyable, low-barrier, and high-impact way to improve cardiovascular health, strength, and endurance. Known as "Japanese walking," the method is incredibly simple: alternating three minutes of fast-paced walking with three minutes at a slower pace, repeated over 30 minutes. It was first introduced in a 2007 study led by Hiroshi Nose and Shizue Masuki, professors at Shinshu University. Researchers randomly assigned 246 older adults into three groups: no walking, moderate-intensity continuous walking, and high-intensity interval walking. The results were eye-opening. People who followed the interval walking program for five months experienced greater increases in leg strength and overall physical fitness, as well as a greater reduction in blood pressure, compared to those who only walked at a moderate pace. Additional research has expanded on the original 2007 findings. A follow-up study involving more than 700 participants found that interval walking also improved symptoms of age and lifestyle-related conditions, including changes in cognitive function, depression, and sleep quality. Now, nearly two decades later, the method is seeing renewed attention on social media, particular under the #FitTok category on TikTok. This type of interval walking taps into the "overload principle" – a key concept in exercise physiology where short bursts of exertion challenge the body just enough to force it to adapt. 'One's fitness and health is affected by both how healthy the muscles are in terms of their metabolism and how well your heart and lungs and circulation work," John Buckley, a professor of exercise physiology at Keele University in the United Kingdom, told Euronews Health. 'To get those organs to adapt, we have to push them," he added. "By inducing these little zaps of hard exercise, we are pushing the muscles and the heart and lungs into a region where they then have to adapt a bit more". This mirrors evolutionary patterns of movement. Humans are built for intermittent bursts of high effort – such as hunting and escaping danger – interspersed with prolonged, lower-intensity activity. By helping people get more high-intensity activity, Japanese walking could help with key health issues related to exercise and nutrition, including diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, Buckley said. The method could help target these conditions by improving insulin sensitivity, reducing blood pressure, and boosting post exercise energy expenditure. 'Even modest amounts of activity can bring our blood glucose down and can bring our blood pressure down,' Buckley said. 'Those two things are probably the long term things that have the biggest effect on people's heart and people's circulation to their brain to prevent them from having a stroke". While the physical effects of Japanese walking are well-documented, Buckley also sees a potential boost to mental health in the method. 'Physical activity, if you look at the evidence, has as strong a benefit,' he said. He said the focus required during high-intensity intervals may even create a mindfulness effect. 'If you have to up the intensity, then your mind has to be focused on that activity at the time," he said. This is backed by a recent review which found that High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) can significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety, particularly in individuals with lower baseline anxiety. The method is also incredibly flexible and can be easily applied to other types of exercise such as cycling, swimming, or even resistance training. So yes, TikTok might have actually stumbled on a fitness trend that's well worth the hype.
AFP
19 hours ago
- AFP
AI-generated clip of 'sparrows eating lovebugs' fools S. Korean users
The econd video appears to show a mountain covered in black-coloured insects and a swarm of sparrows preying on them. Image Screenshot of the false Threads post captured on July 28, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The claim surfaced online when the Asian nation was grappling with a lovebug invasion between late June and July, which experts say highlights worsening climate change (archived link). First identified in South Korea a decade ago, Seoul and nearby cities are now annually hit by a weeks-long infestation of the Plecia nearctica insect, a type of March fly nicknamed "lovebug" for their distinctive mating behaviour, which sees them fly around in coupled pairs. Complaints about the bugs, which scientists believe came from southern China and have surged with rising temperatures linked to climate change, have risen sharply, Seoul city data showed. Videos of huge clouds of lovebugs blanketing mountain trails drew international media attention earlier this month, as they leave behind rotting black remains and a foul stench after dying (archived link). The clip was shared alongside similar claims elsewhere on Threads, X, Instagram and Facebook. "Never thought I'd see the day I'm for sparrows," one responded, while another misled user said, "Nature's self-control ability is remarkable". and AI-generated The video has a clear "Veo" watermark in the bottom right corner, although it has been cropped out in some posts. The name refers to Google's new AI-powered video creation tool, which allows users to generate realistic-looking footage currently limited to eight seconds long -- the same as the clip shared in false posts (archived link). Image Screenshots of the Threads video with the 'Veo' watermark (left) and the Facebook post, taken on July 28, 2025 A close inspection of the video also reveals telltale signs of AI generation, including a bird that appears to emerge from the ground before disappearing in a few seconds. Another bird pops up out of thin air around the two-second mark. Image Screenshots of the false video, with visual inconsistencies highlighted by AFP Although generative AI technology is improving rapidly, identifying visual inconsistencies remains the best way to distinguish fabricated content from genuine materials. Park Hyeon-cheol, a professor at Pusan National University's Department of Life Science and Environmental Biochemistry, said sparrows cannot be considered major predators of lovebugs (archived link). "Sparrows primarily feed on grains and only eat insects temporarily during their breeding season," he told AFP on July 28, adding there aren't enough sparrows in big cities like Seoul to keep the insects in check. "Lovebug infestations mostly affect the capital region, but sparrows are scarce there," Park said, noting the bugs naturally die off in about 10 days. "Given the short breeding season and the limited number of sparrows, how much can they really feed before the lovebugs die?" AFP has fact-checked other misinformation about lovebugs in South Korea.
France 24
6 days ago
- France 24
Tides could help predict when huge icebergs break loose: study
It is not normally possible to forecast when icebergs break free, or calve, although the timing is important because these behemoths change the shape of ice sheets and affect global sea levels. Yet when a chunk of ice the size of Greater London suddenly broke off the Brunt Ice Shelf in 2023 and started drifting away, glaciologist Oliver Marsh was not surprised. Marsh told AFP he had predicted that a huge iceberg breaking off was "imminent within the next weeks to months". The British Antarctic Survey researcher had spent years studying the huge crack that would create the 550-square-kilometre (210-square-mile) iceberg named A81. As Marsh had anticipated, the calving occurred at the peak of spring tide, when there is the biggest difference between the ocean's high and low tide. New research led by Marsh, published in the journal Nature Communications on Thursday, used modelling to show that the calving was triggered by the tide, along with high winds and stress on the ice. After A81 broke off, Marsh visited the ice shelf to see how open water had replaced what had previously been "ice as far as you could see". "It was sad to see it go, in a way," he said. A81 is currently drifting up the eastern side of the Antarctica Peninsula towards the Weddell Sea. It remains to be seen whether it will come close to South Georgia island, which is an important breeding ground for penguins, seals and other animals. 'Out of balance' The world's biggest iceberg, A23a, ran aground not too far from South Georgia earlier this year but is not thought to pose a threat to wildlife. Now that A23a is exposed to the waves of the Southern Ocean, its "days are numbered", Marsh said. He emphasised that iceberg calving is a natural process which balances out the massive amount of snow that falls on Antarctica every year. However, "now we're out of balance", Marsh added. Antarctica loses ice in two ways -- icebergs calving and ice sheets melting. And ice sheets are melting at a rapidly increasing rate as oceans warm due to human-driven climate change, scientists have warned. "We don't know whether calving rates have gone up" because they happen relatively infrequently, Marsh said. A81 was the second of three mammoth icebergs that have broken free of the Brunt Ice Shelf since 2021. "We are expecting a very large calving event at some point from this area" in the future, Marsh said. But he could not give a timeframe. © 2025 AFP
