4 days ago
Why Fireflies Seem to Be Everywhere This Summer
If you've spent evenings outside this summer in New York City (or anywhere in the Eastern United States, really), you may have noticed an unusually high number of fireflies blinking their lights. We asked experts why the insects appeared to be everywhere.
Spring in the city was both warmer and wetter than normal this year — conditions Richard Joyce, a firefly conservationist with the Xerces Society, called 'the perfect recipe' for firefly larvae to thrive. They mature into adults up to two years after being laid as eggs.
In the New York metropolitan area, peak firefly activity happens during mating season, in June and July. The bugs start to come out at dusk and are best seen between 9 p.m. and midnight.
The fireflies you see glowing are usually males, and they're doing it to attract mates. That's why light pollution is so hard on them, said Lynn Faust, a firefly consultant who has written a guide to the insects — it interrupts their mating rituals. 'They literally cannot find one another in the bright lights,' Ms. Faust said.
What's the ideal spot to see fireflies — or lightning bugs, as some refer to them? 'A wet meadow lined at the edges with trees,' Mr. Joyce said. Central Park and Prospect Park are two good locales in the city for firefly displays.
As with most insects, the firefly population ebbs and flows each year, and you tend to see more when you're actively looking for them. 'The more someone cares, looks and notices,' Ms. Faust said, 'the more they will see.'
