To add your sighting e mail me! If you give me permission I will use your name. Information about the date, light conditions, description of the landscape and numbers of fireflies will be appreciated.

To see if I have a report from your state or country, click here.

2008

May 4, 2008: Michale Worley reports: We're in a rural area south of St Augustine, Florida. Approximately 2000 hours with a temperature of around 77F. I noticed one firefly toward the tops of a stand of oak trees next to our house. Thought I was seeing things as we have been in Florida since 1997 and I have never seen one firefly. After a bit of observing, several more showed up. I would say that in total there were at least a half dozen fireflies. My wife also witnessed the sightings. It was a real treat for me, as I have not seen any fireflies since 1977 in New Jersey.
April 24, 2008: Hello. I was looking for information on fireflies and found your website. My husband and I live in Sealy, Texas, – about 50 miles west of Houston. Our a ranch is about 6 miles south of Sealy. In the past 7 years since we moved out here, we occasionally see a few fireflies. It is always such a delight to see them – reminds me of when I was a child in East Texas and they were plentiful. One night about two weeks ago, I went out to the barn after dark and got a wonderful surprise. There were dozens of them in our pastures! Since that night I go out after dark for a few minutes each night and usually see a few. The experience made me wonder if they migrate and we just happened to be in their migration path that night. I, too, would love to see lots of fireflies. Tomorrow, my grandson is coming for a visit. He is 12 years old. I don’t think he has ever seen one and I’m so looking forward to sharing that experience with him.
April 9, 2008: A reader reports: Large bugs and plentiful in Clear Lake, Texas. Using Google Earth, I can see that northwest of Space Center drive there is a large drainage channel that runs parallel to the road. The field in-between the road and channel is full of flashing bugs. Space Center Dr. runs "behind" Johnson Space Center NASA.
April 7, 2008: A reader reports from Birmingham, Alabama: I am already seeing fireflies. I saw them as early as 3/28/2008. Isn't that unusually early?
March 16, 2008: I live in between Crosby and Huffman, Texas, near FM 2100. I've been seeing lots of fireflies for the past week. In fact, this is the most I've seen in the 15 years I've lived here. They're most active at nightfall. What a treat to see them.

2007

Reports are in, but awaiting processing.

2006

June 19, 2006: Greg writes:I came home from work and found a firefly in my apartment in the Bronx, a densely-populated borough of New York City north of Manhattan and Queens. He/she was shining away as proud as can be in my kitchen. I live across the street from an 800-acre park (which contains a major zoo and botanical gardens) and there are a lot of trees in the neighborhood. My apartment building surrounds a large courtyard with trees but no water except when it rains. It will probably be happier in the park.
May 3, 2006: A reader writes: My wife and I saw a firefly flying above the wall in the backyard of our house in the Lakeside Forest subdivision in west Houston, Texas. It was just after dark @ 8:30 pm on 5/02/06. We saw several fireflies while camping in Bastrop State Park during the MS150 weekend. I have seen several fireflies after dark in along the bayou in Hershey Park during the spring and summer months.
May 3, 2006: A reader notes: We live in Clear Lake, Texas, (just south of Houston, not far from NASA JSC) and we saw two fireflies in our backyard about two weeks ago, I think around April 22. I was so excited - I've lived in the area for nearly 15 years and have never seen them here! I'm originally from Maine and grew up taking fireflies for granted, but now I consider it a special treat! And in our own backyard! It was fairly late in the evening, perhaps 10 - 10:30 p.m., so quite dark. Our backyard has several different varieties of plants, and I have (I think) a pair of hummingbirds that frequent my Mexican sage, honeysuckle, and other flowers. We also have monarchs all the time. Our house backs up to a nature preserve/bayou-ish area. I haven't seen them since, but an abundance of snakes this year are keeping me from enjoying the yard as much as I would like! Do you have any tips on keeping snakes out the yard?
May 1, 2006: Diane Pallot reports: I live in a small town near Titusville Florida called Mims, Florida. I sent in a firefly report on April 11 about fireflies in Mims, Florida. I have made a new discovery in Yankeetown, Florida. We have a cottage over there and we have discovered them in some adjacent woods. They seem to like areas with hardwood trees and low lying shrubs and grass. Glad they are there as well.
May 1, 2006: Marietta McCall reports: I wanted to share with you that I was watering my herb garden last nite about 8:00 P.M. and I saw my first firefly for this year. I saw only one but was surprised at that. I live in Boerne, Texas, and have shared my sightings with you in the past. We have Acorn Bed and Breakfast and our back yard has been designated a Backyard Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. We have a brook and a pond (great water sources for birds,butterflies and insects) and we garden for wildlife,birds, and butterflies. I shall keep you posted when I see more fireflies. I should mention that I grew up in New Jersey and we always called them "lightning bugs". They are really an experience to behold you cannot describe what they are like to someone who has never seen them. I treasure the wonder of them each time I look for them in the evening around dusk.
May 1, 2006: A reader notes: A week ago, I saw a firefly in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas, Texas, in an apartment complex. And yesterday evening I saw two of them in a residential area of Round Rock, Texas, just north of Austin. Prior to this, the last I had seen of them was in Houston, back in the late 1970s. This is an encouraging sign for our little friends, I think.
April 23, 2006: Michelle B. Stein writes: I just came across your site looking up fireflies because my dog just found a firefly inside my house. It's only one but I was so excited about it. I haven't seen a firefly in a couple of years. I'm only 22 but when I was younger my family used to go camping and we'd catch them in jars, I didn't even realized it was so long ago. I don't think I would have realized it was a firefly if my dog wouldn't have been sniffing it. It was glowing while she was sniffing. But I just wanted to report my one firefly sighting in Garyville, Louisiana. It's a really small town in south Louisiana. But I just wanted to let you know because if there's one, there's more.
April 20, 2006: Carl Freeman notes: I live in Magnolia, Texas, which is about forty miles northwest of Houston. One of the things we heard when we moved here from California was that there were not any fireflies. However, since moving into our home, we have had sightings every night. Now, I don't know how rare it is, or how to support their growth, but I am really happy they are here. It makes sitting on my back porch even better!
April 11, 2006: Diane Pallot reports: I live in a small town near Titusville Florida called Mims, Florida. In my development I live adjacent to a wooded common area; however, that is not where the fireflies are. They used to be across the street in two vacant lots. The lots were wooded and lots of long wild grass covering most of the ground. The first year I spotted them was 1996. I never saw anything as beautiful. The entire wooded lots were lit up with what seemed to be thousands of fireflies. It looked as other people have described as small Christmas lights twinkling on the ground. Green in color, they would blink just after dark and kept on until 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. My block is a mile long with other woods, but the fireflies seem to be in primarily one spot on my block. As the years have past the two lots have been developed. One neighbor left most of his woods; the other (this is where they mostly were) was clear cut. I told the owner of the land that he ruin a beautiful thing. Now I see them in my backyard which also has the underlying grass . I believe this grass may have something to do with their survival. There is very little lawn on my 1 acre, mostly natural woods. We have screech owls, turkeys, hogs, raccoons, armadillos, opossums, flying squirrels, and gray squirrels….behind my backyard woods is my neighbors woods so there is plenty of area for our fireflies to court one another. They always come at the same time every year, the first week in April and stay for two or three weeks. It is now the 11th of April and I can see them already starting to disappear. I don’t believe I will ever see thousands as I did in the past near my property but I am glad that they did not disappear all together. There is still some across the street where the neighbor who kept his woods lives. However they are just not as many. I do not spray any pesticides on my lawn or any fertilizer except Milorganite. This year we are having a drought so I do not know how this will affect their breeding. I feel blessed to have them.
April 3, 2006: A reader reports: Didn't know if you are still taking sightings of fireflies. I have three. I recently moved from Houston to North Austin, Texas, one year ago, April 2005. About mid April our front yard and back yard were swarming with fireflies. It became a twilight event to sit in the back yard on our deck and just watch them. This lasted until about September as they gradually faded till there were none left. I am anxiously awaiting their arrival this year. I have started to sit on the deck at twilight, they haven't shown up yet. We live in neighborhood that is backed by a ravine and greenbelt. Although the ravine is mostly dry during the year there are a lot of trees and brush. The entire neighborhood has them, as well as the main road that leads to highway183. These are a large golden variety. In Houston, actually Friendswood, Texas, which is about 30 minuets south of Houston and 20 minuets north of Galveston there is a park where fireflies still flourish. Frankie Randolf Carter park off of FM 2351 at twilight is teeming with lightening bugs. If one looks down into the trails as the sun goes down one can see what look to be blinking Christmas lights in the trees and hovering about the trail. We discovered the fireflies in about mid May. They only seem to be around for a month or two in Friendswood, but they are there. These were a smaller golden variety. In Heritage Park subdivision between Friendswood and Webster, Texas, there are a few, but not many little green phosphorous bugs that will show up in June till August. Usually we would only see a handful at a time and it was very inconsistent that they would be out. It was very hit or miss. These were seen in the back portion of the old Heritage Park neighborhood off of Bay Area Blvd. Next to what is now a Super Target.
April 2, 2006: A reader reports: Today, April 2nd, 2006 I saw a firefly in the front yard of my home, located on the north side of Lakeland, Florida, which is in Central Florida. I live in a suburb area on the north side of Lake Gibson. It was around 9:00 p.m. and the temperature was around 70 degrees. It has not rained here in several days and I had the sprinkler running. I did not see any others, just the one.
March 20, 2006: A reader reports: I live in Wellington, Florida, which is in Palm Beach County. I have seen hundreds of fireflies in the past few days behind my house. We live on a natural preserve and there is some water separating our house from the preserve. It hasn't rained in awhile, but the nights have been really nice and in the 60's, and there isn't much humidity now. Mostly all of the fireflies stay in the preserve, but a few show up in my yard. By the way, it's March 20th, the first day of Spring!
March 17, 2006: Doris E. Sinclair notes: I am happy to report that here in Naples, Forida, which is in southwest Florida, we have a fine supply of fireflies and have been observing them for at least the past 5 years. And their numbers appear to be increasing. We live in a more rural area on 5 acres of our own, plus the 5 acre tracts on either side of us are not developed. Our fireflies seem to prefer the woods. The first one was sighted at the end of February and since then they seem to be more plentiful each night. It is pure joy to walk in the woods with them twinkling. Thanks for providing a venue where this can be shared!
March 2, 2006: A reader writes: On March 2, 2006, I observed fireflies in Lacombe, Louisiana. I saw them from ~2035 to after 2200 hours. I observed maybe six flashes/ minutes, about 20 to 30 feet off ground with woods as background. Air temperature was 68. The high today was 78, last night low was 50. The area is Rural, light population. ~5 miles north from Lake Pontchtraine

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2005

July 9, 2005: Ellen L. Ramsey notes: Greetings. I enjoyed all the information on your website about fireflies. Here's a firefly description to add to your collection. We live in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and as part of our celebration on the Fourth of July weekend, we drove out to Lancaster County on the evening of July 2nd and had dinner at the Bird in Hand restaurant. We drove back home at twilight, and the countryside was flooded with fireflies--they were flying up from the cornfields and cow pastures, and from around the ponds. The lower branches of the pine trees looked like they were sparkling with hundreds of blinking Christmas lights. It was most magical. Even more fun than fireworks! I noticed Nancy Herman's description about seeing so many fireflies in Merion, PA, this year. I have no idea why there might be so many, but it's magnificent to watch them in the evenings.
July 8, 2005: A reader writes: I live in Adams Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania. I have lived 35 miles north of Pgh. in a country area for the past twenty years and have never seen as many "fireflies" as we are seeing this year. Does anyone know why? I mean, driving down my road at night is like warp speed in Starwars.
July 8, 2005: A reader writes: I live on a lake in the northwest corner of New Jersey. About two weeks ago my brother was visiting and we went out on the deck by the lake at around 10 PM. Now, we had grown up here as children and I moved back about nine years ago, so we are no strangers to fireflies, but this night was like no other! Just off shore there is a small (60 foot by 15 foot) island. When we looked out towards the island we saw thousands of fireflies. The amount was odd enough, but they were lighting up and staying lit, leaving streaks in the night like meteorites. As I've said I have seen fireflies all my life, both here and in Queens, New York, where we lived during the year, but nothing like this. Over the next week they continued to appear, at about the same time but the amount lessened each night. The number, the brightness and the time they stayed lit made it look like Christmas lights twinkling in the sky. We have been looking for information about this ever since. Was it a mating ritual? Or some other natural event? If anyone knows anything about it, please let us know, as it was so beautiful that if it occurs at a given time each year we don't want to miss it next year. Also, in researching fireflies I read that they fly about one and a half feet off the ground. Around here they can be seen in the tops of trees 35-45 feet off the ground.
July 7, 2005: A reader writes: As we placed our chairs along the edge of the one acre pond in the middle of the public park my fiance pointed toward the right. We had never seen so many fireflies anywhere. It was the Fourth Of July and there were dozens of people and dogs and lots of noise. As the kids ran around with sparklers and the occasional small firecracker went off it seemed as though the fireflies were completely undisturbed. It was as if watching a pre-fireworks display. As we watched the twinkling - akin to those icicle lights that people hang from their rooflines around Christmas - we realized that describing the actual amount of fireflies would be difficult. The fireworks began and then we had our description. The firefly display was like when one of those really big fireworks goes off and starts to dissipate, as it drifts toward the ground there are a million twinkles of light. That is what we saw in Olathe, Kansas, on the Fourth Of July. During the last week of June we spent some time in Almont, Michigan. There were lots of fireflies, they had a rapid blink - blink - blink to them, unlike at home in Kansas where they just give off the occasional single blink at a time. The color of the blinkers in Michigan was also more of a green compared to the yellowish blink of the Kansan fireflies. In Michigan we were in a tree-lined yard surrounded by farmer's fields. No water within a square mile, unless you count swimming pools.
July 7, 2005: A reader writes: Hi. We just moved here and there are a lot of fireflies out each evening. We live in Glasgow, Kentucky. Each night and more then we can count. We live on almost four acres in a city rural area. lots of large lots, with a wooded area on the property. It is very humid here and hot, 54% and a temperature range of 81 to 95 degrees each day, and it goes down to 60 degrees at night. The date we arrived was 7/4/05 and have seen them each evening.
July 5, 2005: Kay Gelvin reports: I have been haunted by your plight! It has been on my mind constantly, since seeing it on the internet last week. I have some information which I think could be useful to you. This season, I've seen more fireflies than I have in a very long time. It is mind boggling to think I've seen so many. Let me set up a few facts. I live in the southeastern corner of Michigan, a mile or so from Lake Erie. We have had half the normal amount of rain this year and does it show! I live next to a farmer's field in a small subdivision and it is all clay around here. It has been a warmer than normal season but last summer it was the most mild I can ever remember. I have experienced three incredibly bad winters in a row. This I measure by the damage to my roses and lavenders. (Excessive cold. Extreme cold/warm days in spring and too darn wet. The snow stays on the ground for months.) I grow herbs and specialty (heritage-type) roses. I use both in culinary ways, so I don't want to spray. This year, I am expanding my herb beds and I am spending a lot more time outside than I would normally. From early morning to dusk, I see fireflies. Everywhere! I probably see more of them than any other bug! (Well, maybe not. I've got an awful lot of hornets around here with all that clay!) Anyway, the fireflies are very active during the day. I have a tendency to be a lazy gardener so I usually don't deadhead my plants unless someone important comes for a visit, and even then I have to be motivated. Well, this year, since I've seen so much damage to my roses, I decided to nurse them along with pruning and deadheading. And I'll tell you they have so many little fireflies visiting you would be amazed. If you asked me on any given day to go out and collect 25 in 25 minutes I know it would not be a problem, and I bet I could do it in a lot less time than that! Here's the thing. The fireflies seem to be sweeping the spent roses with their mouths. Over and over again. Some of the most popular (according to the fireflies) roses I have are Alchemist (only blooms once but it is spectacular), New Dawn (repeat bloom), Rugosa roses (repeat bloom), Jacques Cartier (repeat bloom), all of which have quite good scent. Because I don't spray, I have other bugs as well and it is quite obvious from the damage to the leaves. I think it's safe to say that adult fireflies do indeed eat! Since they spend so much time on the decaying flower, I've decided to halt the deadheading and continue to watch their habits. I know there are roses in Houston, but how many people have them, just for the fun of it, and don't use any sprays, powders, or systemic treatments? I do not and will not plant Hybrid Tea roses. They require too much attention in a climate such as this. I have the hardier and more robust roses and my biggest problems are aphids, not Japanese beetles. Is it possible that you could try growing any of the roses I suggested? (My first choice would be Alchemist.) The trick would be to grow these and not use chemicals. My guess is if this is something that makes my yard special, then it may take a few years for the cycle to establish itself. I also have several rosemary plants which I put in the ground in spring and then dig up and bring inside in the fall to winter over in a south-facing bay window. Three years ago, I had a firefly come out of the soil from one of these plants at Christmas. Luckily enough, it was warm enough that he was taken directly outside to fend for himself. I hope this can be of some use to you. You have my permission to use my name and should you want daylight pictures or other information on this, please let me know. I wish you all the very best in your quest. I find your mission to be extraordinary and I applaud your efforts.
July 5, 2005: A reader writes: In the lower east side of New York City, New York, , in a rare section with much greenery, fireflies were sighted over three consecutive evenings (after an evening of rain). The second night there were many fewer. On the third night there were even more than the first (maybe thirty?).
July 4, 2005: A reader notes: We regularly see fireflies in our area, 45 km. east of Edmonton, Alberta. The terrain is wooded with some water near by. We generaly see them from June to September.
July 4, 2005: A reader writes: I live in rural Felton, Minnesota, and it is July 3, 2005, at about 11:30 pm and I have never seen a firefly, but I recently moved to this area and I saw a single firefly in my back yard. It is about 75 degrees and we have had lots of rain recently, lots of thurder-storms, and tonight many people are setting off fireworks. I wonder if the flashing from the fireworks attracted this firefly and why I only saw one. I watched him for about 5 minutes and when he went into my garden, I didn't see him flash anymore.
July 3, 2005: A reader writes: Absolutely confirmed! I was invited out by the observer of the previous Plain City, Utah, report and I verify there is a healthy population of fireflies! We watched them (my first ever!) for about 45 minutes. Thanks for the referral to him to make this possible. It was a great thing!
July 1, 2005: Nancy Herman writes: I live in Merion, Pennsylvania, right outside of Philadelphia and I have never seen so many fireflies as I have this year. I am 67 so that is quite some time. I was wondering if anyone knows why. I have noticed there don't seem to be any bats around. Could that be it and, if so, where are they?
July 1, 2005: A reader writes: We have had a place on the lake in the southwestern British Columbia, for 14 years, with never a sighting until the 29th of June, 2005, at 11:30 PM. We have had an extraordinary amount of rain this year. Our cabin is on a small lake , the forest in primarily spruce, pine, poplar and aspen. The lake is in a valley. Our elevation is 3400 feet. There is a lot of red willow, marsh grass, a few hay fields. The night of the sighting there was a cloud cover. We had the Christmas tree lights on at the edge of the lake, to add to the ambience! There were about 6 fireflies! I felt I was part of a fantasy! I had been so envious of my friend who had seen them in Japan. I truly have been moved by this experience.
June 29, 2005: Paul Lowry writes: Hello. Many fireflies here in the city of Omaha, Nebraska, in the last couple of weeks, about 30 to 40 per night, all very active and flashing regularly. I have seen many of them mating in the bushes next to my deck. They always seem to appear at the same time, about 1/2 hour after dusk. This week has been cooler (about 85 deg F.) and less humid and they do not seem to be as active as last week when it was in the mid 90's. As for lighting conditions, my backyard faces a busy street with street lights and is never completely dark, but they don't seem to mind. They also seem to react to lightning flashes in the sky, lighting up seconds after a lightning strike as if they were flashing back. Hope this helps
June 29, 2005: A reader writes: I was walking tonight at dusk under the elevated trian platform in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York, when all of a sudden I noticed a stange familiar glow. I don't think I had seen a firefly since my childhood in rural Maine. I held out ny hand and the beetle landed in my palm and stayed put while I walked all the way home . . . about a fifteen minute walk! I put him in a jar with a fresh marigold and he was flying around and blinking enthusiastically for about ten minutes but then all of a sudden stopped moving and seemed to be playing dead. I became concerned and freed the firefly in my window box of alfalfa sprouts where he is still resting. I hope I haven't hurt him! Does anyone know if fireflies may be poisoned by marigolds? It's just the change in his behavior was very sudden and I only handled him with the gentliest of care. :) Brooklyn NY June 28, 2005 9 pm 80 degress, humid. One firefly, black with red head, blinking happily...
June 29, 2005: A.P. Belcamino writes: We were thrilled to read your info on fireflies. We are having the best year that we have ever had . We live in Litchfield, New Hampshire. Our Spring was wet and now the humidity is high. We are spending every evening watching the light show. Thank You for ENLIGHTENING us!!
June 27, 2005: Greg Price reports: While driving from Waterloo, Iowa to Cedar Rapids, Iowa - between 10:00 PM and 11:30 PM, and after a thunderstorm, I observed thousands of fireflies in the corn and soybean fields adjacent to I-380. Stopped twice at rural road exits to watch away from the highway and was amazed to see literally thousands of sparkling lights per acre of farmland. They were clustered in the grass median at the overpasses and a dozen or so were collected by my windshield and left brightly glowing smears which dimmed after about five minutes. This is my first summer in firefly country and I must say that these creatures are one of nature's treasures.
June 27, 2005: John Jackson writes: Just how far up do these fireflies fly? My husband and I saw at least 20 to 30 bright flashes of light on June 26th in Hardin, Texas. We watched them until about 10:45 and they never stopped. These lights moved very fast and came off and on. They flew as high as the airplanes and never came close to the ground. Every minute or so we had flashes of what appeared to be distant lightning, but skies were clear and all stars visable. On any given night many planes pass over head, but not on the 26th. About 20 minutes into these sightings, a large plane(or jet) passed over using the biggest, brightest light beam we have ever seen. The aircraft was very loud and seemed to be looking for something. Then about 10 minutes later anouther large aircraft flew over using lights but not the big, bright beam. These bright lights flew very fast and so high I can't imagine a firefly being that far up and it be so bright, as well as the lack of planes that are usually in our skies. Hardin is in southeast Texas, about 50 miles east of Houston. Anyone else see these strange lights and/or large aircraft with the bright beams? Or maybe an airforce base doing something?
June 27, 2005: A reader reports: I live in Arlington, Massachusetts, and for the past seven years have been viewing fireflies at the marsh opposite the Belmont Country Club, on Concord Avenue as it runs from Belmont into Lexington towards Waltham. It's a very reliable place to find a good number of fireflies, and they have been out this year for about two weeks. Also, I have recently found that the marshes in Concord along the Battle Road in and near to the Minuteman National Park, have very plentiful fireflies. Last night, while a thunderstorm with lightning passed along the north side of Concord, the fireflies & their flashes went absolutely crazy! Have never seen so many in this area. Another great place to find them is the "cow pasture" (that's what the sign says!) next to the Concord River where the launch site for private canoes is located, just outside the center on Lowell Road. (My best firefly viewing was in mid-Pennsylvania, Ohio & Indiana - I've never been south to Florida or Georgia at this time of year.) Thanks for keeping up the great, resourceful web page.
June 27, 2005: Bill Harris wonders: My wife and I have lived in Issaquah, Washington, since 1987 and have not seen a single firefly until early Sunday morning, June 26, 2005 (we moved from Bellevue, Nebraska where there are plenty of Lightning Bugs). However, we've recently moved into an area, that has a wetland (on our property 1.47 Acres) and observed a single blinking light in the grass... could it be possible that we've spotted a Lightning Bug? Are they in the Seattle Area?
June 27, 2005: C. M. Hill notes: In the little town of Montpelier, Louisiana, there is a place on the Tangipohoa River where the fireflies are so numerous until they fill the sand with their lights. As they rise at dusk, you can't tell them from the stars. They fill the air and trees and the sand.
June 26, 2005: Paul K. Smith writes: Last weekend I was visiting my parents in Missouri City, Texas, near Houston (the Quail Valley Neighborhood), and I saw one or two fireflies along one of the golf courses there.
June 26, 2005: A reader notes: Thought I saw one out of the corner of my eye but not sure. Here in Irving, Texas, I rarely see any fireflies, maybe one a year, if I'm lucky. I have lots of flowers and tropicals and woodland shrubs. Lots of shade in the neigborhood, but no creeks nearby.
June 26, 2005: Nikki King notes: We live in Lakeside, Texas, west of Fort Worth. The fireflies come out by scores every night. It is like a mass meeting of little fairies. Beautiful. The cicadas also live here, as well as the wasps that hunt and kill them.
June 24, 2005: Lynda McLeod notes: We live in Ajax, Ontario, near Carruthers Creek about one mile north of Lake Ontario. Every year we see the fireflies June 12-13, and this year no exception. The area near the creek bed has several old trees lining the banks, and then opens up to a natural grass area. We see them floating over the tall grasses and as high up as 10 feet after 9:30 at night. Often the males carry on for hours, because I have spotted them glowing as late as midnight. Unfortunately the windy weather and damp weather does seem to affect the numbers, as we don't have as many as we used to have.
June 23, 2005: Jim Pelletier reports: I've been watching fireflies for the past 4 nights. Locations: Jaffrey and Rindge, New Hampshire. Sighting times: 9-9:30 pm. Density: Fireflies have been sparce. High density of fireflies tends to be around the 4th of July. Great site. Thanks for creating it.
June 23, 2005: A reader reports: Just saw an article on the web about your curiosity of fireflies. I used to live in a condo in the city of Chicago. Last year, I moved into a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, and had a lawn and my own backyard for the very first time. It was at this time that I discovered native plant species to my local area. I started planting them in abundance from forbs, to grasses, vines, shrubs and trees. Then, this year they came. At dusk, I have fireflies flitting about my yard. They go about their lighting display for about one half hour and then there's silence. I have not seen them in my neighbors' yards so I can only assume that they like the native plantings I provided (or maybe they're attracted to the other beneficial insects that now inhabit my yard). I highly recommend this avenue if one is truly interested in attracting these magnificent miracles. Also provided are shallow puddling pools that I scattered throughout my yard. I took the bottom saucer of a planting pot and filled it partially with sand. Every morning I change the water for the insects that may come to visit me. This may also be a useful tool. Good luck!
June 23, 2005: Mary writes: I live in Gainesville, Missouri, and there are hundreds of fireflies there. They live in the hedges and come out at night. They fly low and even at times seem to fly right in front of my husband and myself as if they are looking to see what we are. Even our old dog enjoys watching the fireflies in the evening. They seem to loose altitude when their little light blinks on. They fly over the lawn. We enjoy watching them.
June 22, 2005: Joe Salas writes: Hi. I live in a subdivision called Lakewood Estates, Texas, which is between Lakehills and Pipe Creek, Texas, at an altitude of around 1300 feet. I have been seeing fireflies for the past month on my property. I am about a mile from Medina Lake as well. Sometimes there are two or three fireflies and at other times there could be a dozen or so. I have not seen masses of them yet like I used to see in San Antonio where I grew up in the 1950s and 60s. There are no more fireflies in the city but out here in the country they are making a comeback. The area is not isolated because there are quite a number of homes but lots of woods as well. There is an increasing amount of hummingbirds as well. There have been reports of badgers as well, but I have not seen them. I don't even know what they look like. It is such a pleasure to see the fireflies return. It is even more exciting to see them blink in synchrony even though they are all apart by some distance. How do they do that?
June 21, 2005: Nancy Greig reports: The fireflies are back in my neighborhood! I saw at least a dozen of them the other evening. They hang out in a "wild" area (grasses and trees) around a little ditch/arm of White Oak Bayou that runs behind Queenswood Street in section 5 of Timbergrove Manor in Houston, Texas. It is always quite thrilling to see them!
June 19, 2005: Adrienne Keener reports: Good Evening!! I came across your web site tonight after doing some research on the ever fascinating fireflies. I am from Palm Beach, Florida and have never seen them until I moved to Jonesborough, Tennessee, last June. I have a six year old little boy that is very fascinated by these little buggers!! Last night (June 18) we were sitting on our deck and watch in amazement on how many there were (it looked like billions) in the pasture behind our house. It looked like Christmas lights dancing in the wind. It was about 9:30 PM, clear skies and dark. I sure am sorry that you are unable to see what my son and I are seeing. I sure hope one day everybody will get to experience what we are getting to see. Good luck in your search!
June 18, 2005: René Becker writes: Last night we saw three fireflies in my friend's backyard in Roermond, in south of the Netherlands. The yard is rather light, even at night. It is close to water, though. Two or three of the bugs were flying around and another one was having a rest (at least, it was lying still). We picked the last one up, put it on the table and shot some pictures of it. We hadn't seen any before and we were quite surprised to find them here in the Netherlands.
June 18, 2005: Terri Jalbert writes: Hi from Biddeford, Maine, on June 18, 2005. While looking out the second story window of my home, I observed about 18 different flashes in the field in front of the house. The field the fireflies occupy is natural (not cultivated) and is usually wet, but is very wet this year, due to the rainy spring. The temperature is about 58 at 10 PM. We have lived here since 2001, and have observed the fireflies every year. They are a wonderful sight and I pray they continue every year.
June 18, 2005: Julie Miller writes: My husband and I have five children 2, 4, 6, 8 and 9 years old and we live in Anderson, South Carolina. I grew up here in the upstate of South Carolina and my husband grew up about two hours away in Stone Mountain, Georgia. We were surfing the internet to see what fireflies eat. Our children caught about fifty fireflies each last night in Stone Mountain, Georgia . We had no idea or had never thought about it, but catching these little night lights for our bedroom night stand is a common activity on summer nights both here in South Carolina and in Georgia. It was a joy for us as children and a joy for our children now. Our older two have said they would catch them and send them to you so you could too enjoy the light show. We also found out the life expectancy was only a few days to a week. So, I don't guess they would travel too well by mail. As a side note, we don't live in a big city and do not have city bug spray trucks. However, Stone Mountain is a suburb of Atlanta and they do spray for bugs. Hope this information is useful.
June 17, 2005: Rachel Hale notes: I live in a small farming village in south Louisiana on a farm. As a child there were fireflies all over the place. Now there are none. I mean I never see any! I assumed that perhaps it was because of the spray that the parish "mosquito man" sprays eliminated them. However, I'm visitig in Atlanta, Georgia ...smack in the middle of Buckhead and there are fireflies all over here. I know there must be a "mosquito man" here too. And this addresses your comment about the city lights. If you find any information about breading/raising fire flies, please let me know. Thank You
June 16, 2005: A reader writes: Hey. I had quite a few fireflies flying around 2 weeks ago in my back yard. I live in Hollywood, Florida, in an urban setting. Just wanted to let you know. We have a golf coarse behind the house and some watery area. They tease me when I try and catch them. They're hard to get and I don't wanna do any damage to them so I try and just sit back and watch them do their thing. I know what you're talking about with the levels going down. I'm only 20 and even 10 years ago I remember places at night being swarmed with em. Now only the occasional few will grace the area if we're lucky. I'm sure global warming and the low water levels can contribute to their decline. As they can be contributed to the decline of many species around here, along with over-development and apathy among the people. Anyhow, I was wondering if you're aware of any good spots around South Florida where one might be able to do some firefly watching, maybe take some photographs or just play around. Anyhow, I'd love to know. Thanks for the great info on the website. Good luck with your research. I'd love to stay updated on how our populations down south are doin! Take care.
June 15, 2005: A reader writes: I am from Sonoma County, California, and I have identified a glow worm. I have never seen one before. It is a fascinating little creature! Are they suppose to be here?
June 14, 2005: A reader writes: Hello there. I moved to the US from Ireland last summer. My boyfriend is from this area and told me that there are fireflies here and that sometimes they came into his room at night time. We were living in Plymouth, Massachusetts, at that time. I was very excited to hear this, as I had only ever seen fireflies in cartoons (animation). So one night last August, I saw something flashing up towards his bedroom ceiling at about midnight. Transfixed and excited, I sat up in the bed and watched it for about two hours before I realized it was the light flashing in his smoke detector. You can imagine my disappointment as I threw myself back under the pillows, not relishing the thought of getting up for college at 6.30 am. There were no sightings of anything remotely luminous in Plymouth after that. However, we recently bought a house in Plympton, Massachusetts, which is about 15 minutes from Plymouth. It's the smallest town in southeastern Massachusetts, and it's all horse farms and cranberry bogs. Behind our house we have just under two acres of young woodlands and then about eight acres of cranberry bog. And in the last week (beginning of June) we have started to see actual fireflies in the back garden. We went into the Museum of Science in Boston on Saturday and they had a huge model of a firefly and a little bit of information on why they glow and the fact that the frogs tummys will also glow after a good feed. Last night I got out of bed at about 1 am and sat on the deck to watch them. I saw about ten dancing around the garden. I looked up at the night sky and saw one meander across the top of the pine trees, quite a height for a small winged one to accomplish. There was another that just sat on the same flower for the entire hour that I was out there. Growing up in the countryside, I always knew better than to disturb any kind of nature. But last night my curiosity got the better of me and I crept across the lawn to get a closer inspection of the stationary one. He didn't fly away when I brushed him into my palm. When I brought him inside I saw that his wing is all twisted around and looks broken. So I drilled some holes in the lid of a jam jar and he stayed blinking beside my bed all night. I came on to this website here, looking to see if there was anything that I could feed him, and it seems there's not a lot. We're having a blanket of pollen cover the garden at the moment. Maybe I could brush some off the hood of my car and sprinkle it into the jar? I might just do that. Maybe that will fuel his luciferin? Maybe I'll wait and see if his light is any duller tonight, and then give him the pollen tomorrow and see if the light gets any stronger? Anyway, I think that your website is brilliant (no pun intended). It's good to see people appreciate the little things that make America such a fantastic and wonderful country. Getting the time and energy to initiate and maintain a website like this is something that a lot of people would put at the very end of their to-do list and prioritize other self indulgencies over and above what is essentially a public service. I think that your local government's environmental office should sponsor your efforts and support your endeavors. If not, you should rest easy in the knowledge that you are doing some good in the world and this will be a bonus on your slate. The very best of luck to you.
June 14, 2005: Kat Jordan writes: Hi. My husband and I moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, two months ago. Back in southern New Jersey we enjoyed watching dozens of fireflies blink across our lawns on sultry summer nights. That was nothing compared to the firefly magic we have here in Wilmington! Our backyard ends where a large pond begins and a forest of trees is beyond the pond. Last night we were breathless at the sight of not just hundreds, but thousands of fireflies twinkling in the trees! I have never seen anything like this! This morning I sent an email to all my family and friends to tell them about this treat that nature provided us; it is soooo beautiful! We sat for a hour on our back porch, quietly watching the magic before us... how peaceful that hour was...
June 14, 2005: Steve Tibbs notes: A bunch of Lampyridae here in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Ten or so can be seen at anytime.
June 14, 2005: Zoe writes: Hello! I found your site while searching for more info on these lovely glowing flies! I had never seen them in real life before moving to New Jersey two years ago. I grew up in southern Ontario but never saw any there. It was a breathtaking moment when I saw my first live firefly last summer. I fell in love! So, last night in Montclair, New Jersey, which is in Essex County about 10 miles from Manhattan/NYC, I saw about 10 fireflies at dusk ­ (8:30-9:00 p.m.). It was still really hot out (in the 30s in Celsius, in the 80s in Fahrenheit). They were hanging out on the front lawn of a couple of houses on a not-so-busy side street. There were trees and bushes. If I had more time I would have hung out more with them too. Thank you! I'll pop you another email if more of them come out to play. Thanks for your great Web pages!
June 13, 2005: Dave Chalmers writes: We have fireflies around our house located in the country, just outside Barrie, Ontario, 1.5 hours north of Toronto Ontario Canada.
June 13, 2005: Christina writes: I live in Acton, Massachusetts. It's about 45 minutes away from Boston. Acton is more country, with grassy fields, tree lines, trees, and many ponds. On Sunday, June 12th, my significant other and I went out to look to see if fireflies were out. We went to a grassy field with a forest tree line. We saw many of them blinking from dusk (8:30pm) to 10pm. Half were flashing green light and half were slowly dimming with a firey orange yellow light. On our drive back home they were in spots all over the place--even a single one would be wandering late at night. Where we live the nature seems to be well preserved and protected that we still get firefly activity. I'm sure were getting them all over the place in the country part of Massachusetts.
June 12, 2005: A reader reports: Just a quick note. I bookmarked your firefly page several years ago because we only had a few on our 20 acres in Doyline, Louisiana, and I wanted to learn how to promote the habitat. We have more water available for them now, and last night when I got home from work (nurse) at 1 am, there was a lovely surprise! Not a huge light show, but at least 20-30 flashes a minute. HEAVEN! We are hoping this is a sign of future increases in the population around our home and area. Have you learned anymore about what they eat? Just thought you would find this encouraging. Someday I will take the time and tell you my "best-lightning-bug-night" story. It was life altering. Kindest regards.
June 11, 2005: A reader reports: I just saw the first firefly of the year in Morgantown, West Virginia! They always remind me of my childhood days of catching them in the yard. Of course, I always released them! The sighting was of one lone firefly in a neighbors tree right in the middle of Morgantown. It's a very humid evening, with about 77 degrees at 1:00am on June 11, 2005.
June 11, 2005: A reader reports: Tonight I took my children out to see the fireflies. What a kick! It's been years since I went to see the little buggers. I live in Cheyenne County, Nebraska. Dalton, Nebraska, is my home town. Northwest of town there are natural springs and the headwaters to Greenwood Creek. I know it sounds crazy to have conditions for fireflies in a desert, but come on out, we'll go see them. Today is June 10 and we didn't see more then a dozen or so; however, I have been there on other occasions and have gotten quite a show. To the best of my knowledge they have been there forever, even though we definitely live west of the Missouri River
June 11, 2005: Nikki Muntz notes: I live in Hamilton, Ohio. Tonight (6/11/05) my children and I caught about 40 fireflies. We live on a 1/4 acre corner lot, considered city, although we're not by any means a major city. We are about 20 miles from Cincinnati. Last week we only found 5 fireflies, to our disappointment. The weather this week has been in the 80s, humid, with pop up showers. I don't know if that has anything to do with the increased number found or if it's just that time of year. We let loose all the fireflies we find the following morning so they won't die and maybe we can catch them again for more fun the next night. I hope my three girls will always remember spending summertime catching fireflies with mom.
June 9, 2005: Mary reports: We moved to Magnolia, Texas, a year ago around the middle of May. We have 3 wooded acres and the house sits right in the middle. The woods completely surround the house and are about 20 feet from our back porch. That September, we were delighted when we discovered that we have fireflies! We first started seeing one here and there, and then masses of them each evening. They would start around dusk and the darker it got the more there were. It looked like a magical fairyland. We thoroughly enjoyed sitting on the back porch and watching them every evening. They start out low to the ground back in the woods. Then they start getting closer and sometimes even come all the way up on the porch. Eventually, they start rising higher and higher in the trees until they look like the trees are strung with hundreds of Christmas lights! It is so awesome. Our friends and neighbors would all come and bring their children to witness this "wonderland". This spring they came back around April but there didn't seem to be as many and they weren't around for long. I'm hoping to see an abundance of them again at summer's end.
June 7, 2005: A reader writes: I haven't seen any fireflies in my Northwest Florida Panhandle yard in a few years. This past weekend I went home to the Tennessee Valley - Quad Cities area of northwest Alabama, and saw dozens of fireflies each night at my father's house, near where I saw them when growing up. On the last night, I secured a gallon jug, complete with air holes punched in metal cap and captured by hand (only) at least 16 (maybe two dozen) fireflies. I let them "overnight" in the garage outside. The next morning, a couple of them looked dead and like they were on their backs. Nevertheless, I decided to take them home (in the floorboard of the car - not the hot trunk!). After a five hour drive home, I immediately 'dumped' them in a back corner of our acre lot near some trees/shrubs just outside our butterfly/hummingbird garden. They all seemed alive, and a couple took flight. I don't know what I expected but I have been more than rewarded thus far. That first night, near dusk, I watched where I had 'dumped' them, and lo and behold, flickers appeared and I counted at least a dozen separate fireflies. They had stayed in the area, dormant I presume in the afternoon, and now began their area tours. They fanned out across my backyard, eventually over my house and six foot fence into neighborhood yards and highways. After about 45 minutes, there was not a single flicker left in my yard. I supposed that was the end of it, and hoped they would live and survive in our neighborhood, despite bats, frogs, and windshields of vehicles! But, nevertheless, the second night at dusk, I again stood vigil. Sure enough, as I watched several fireflies gradually lit up (maybe 8 - 10 separate ones) and again scouted out my back yard and soon were out on the neighborhood, with not a flicker remaining in my back yard after about 45 minutes. Tonight is the third night and I just came in, and there were at least 6-7 fireflies who had returned "home" to the back corner of my lot last night. I will keep watching each night and see how many return each day. I hope that they have had time to lay eggs for larva for next year. Now, I suppose everyone would have told me that I am crazy to try this experiment, and no one is more surprised than me that it has lasted three nights so far. It has been very entertaining and I hope to 're-introduce' fireflies to my yard and neighborhood. I obviously can't say "it worked" yet, nor further that it might work for you, but I have had a ton of fun (like I was a little kid again) welcoming my friends back home each night at dusk, and bidding them safe voyage as they head out exploring my neighborhood. It has already been well worth the trouble and time it took to arrange the experiment.
June 6, 2005: Larry The Painter writes: The annual "Dance of the Fireflies" is commencing in Springfield, Missouri. This year there is a preponderance of the bright yellow ones that fly a straight upwards oblique line as they flash. It was a mild winter and this species obviously flourished better than the bright chartreuse j-patterns we usually get. Last weekend was priveleged to see electric blue near Table Rock lake. Thought those were extinct since most folks haven't seen 'em in years.
June 6, 2005: Michael W. Blaise writes: During May and June, in Manvel, Texas, along Chocolate Bayou (about 25 miles south of Houston), I have seen fireflies for the past 5-6 years. Fortunately, they are increasing in number every year. To encourage them, I have placed sources of rotting wood along my properly line with the bayou.
June 6, 2005: Charles Wagner reports: I could not believe my eyes. We were camped on Conchas Lake, New Mexico, midway between Santa Rosa and Tucumcari, this past weekend, June 4th and 5th 2005. Right at dusk, I looked up a grassy draw that drops down to the lake and saw the flashes. I thought I was seeing tower beacons shining through the trees at first, but after several more flashes, I realized I was watching lightning bugs. We must have seen 20-30 of them. I was raised on Long Island in New York and haven't seen lightning bugs in years except for visits back east. I have NEVER witnessed them in New Mexico. It was a remarkable sight!
June 6, 2005: Tammy writes: Hollis, Oklahoma. June 5th, 2005. A warm, balmy night. Hail storms surrounded several counties close to our town. We had no rain or storm of any kind. I noticed several lightning bugs late in the evening (about 9:30 p.m.) as I was walking across the road to take out the trash. I have several large fruitless mulberry trees on the side of my house, which make the darkness of the evening appear more black than actual. The bugs were flashing off and on brightly, reminding me of Tinkerbell. I went into the house to get my daughter to come out and see the bugs, yet they suddenly decided to disappear, as if they caught a case of stage fright. Later on that night, my daughter woke my husband up to report something in her room. She said she initially thought the flashing lights in her room were car lights passing by, then she realized they weren't. One brave little lightning bug had made it inside our house. I guess he decided my daughter deserved an encore presentation, even if only a small one.
June 6, 2005: Terry Pettijohn reports: I grew up 35 miles N. of Lubbock and thought I had seen fireflies there in the 60's, but I have talked to my friends and they all assure me that they did not see any there. While searching to find out if their habitat extended to the area I found your site. For the last couple of weeks I have spotted 3-5 fireflies blinking in 2 areas. The 2 areas are in south Garland, Texas. Of course, it is difficult to tell if there are many fireflies since we would only see the blinking ones, but I have the sense that it is only a few. The first is in my back yard, which has many trees and has natural drainage that runs down to the lake about half a mile away. The other is in a creek bottom that is Audobon Park. I usually see them at a little past dusk. I saw them tonight (June 6, 2005) around 9:30PM.
June 5, 2005: A reader writes: Hello. Here is a firefly sighting report from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Location : close to a small river inside the city limits (address is South Pollard Parkway, Baton Rouge 70808). It is well within the city limits, but in a wild place at the end of a relatively new neighbourhood. Tall deciduous trees (sweet gums, live oaks) and pretty dense bushes. Number of fireflights : several dozen at least could be seen flying among the bushes between the ground and 15 feet high. Weather: 3 days after Thunderstorms, nice day with fair sky and no wind, temperature around 85-90 F. Date and time : 6/4/2005 at 19:30 (i.e., still in day time). Note that although spring has been pretty dry this year, I have had plenty of slugs and snails, i.e., plenty of potential food for fireflies larvae.We are coming from France and this is a delight to see fireflights here. In France they are pretty rare and you usually only see the females on the ground, their light over there is weaker, greener and more continuous that the fireflies seen in Baton Rouge.
June 4, 2005: Mike Newcomb notes: Tonight, June 4th, 2005, is the 4th consecutive year that I have seen fireflies in Plain City, Utah, located just west of Ogden City in Northern Utah. There are many marshes in this area, about 12 miles east of the Great Salt Lake. Like last year, it was a clear night, with an evening temperature of about 60 degrees. These same marshes are noisy with leopard frog serenades. Last year, I saw thousands of fireflies between June 7th and July 18th. Tonight, I was thrilled to see their return with about 15 or so sightings in these same marshes. These wetlands weave around residential areas and homeowners only have to sit on their back porch at dusk for the light display. Last year, I saw these light guys in five different areas in an area within 1/2 mile of my home. I don't know the species, but they are very similar to the lightning bugs I've seen in the Birmingham, Alabama, area. I told an entomologist friend who works for the Forest Service about the fireflies and he told me it was a fluke. "They aren't suppose to be west of Kansas." With four straight years enjoying them, I'm beginning to wonder.
June 4, 2005: Alfreda Nash notes: In Southeast Missouri, we always called them lightning bugs. Anyway, my parents' yard had a beautiful display on June 3, 2005. It has been very dry there for two months. The yard does need mowing. It was about 8:30 in the evening - just after sundown. I used to see them there all summer, but this is the first time for a while. They said that they see them a lot. They live in the "bootheel" in Pemiscot County, Missouri. I have been living in Houston for 40 years and do not remember seeing any here.
June 4, 2005: Peggy Borrer notes: I live along Clear Creek in Pearland, Texas, (near Galveston County and across the creek from Harris County). We have been having a truly magical lightning bug show in the late evening along the bank of the creek. The area is scheduled to be cleared for flood control, but so far, Mr. Yost has been very co-operative about leaving my yard alone. I grew up in Memphis, TN, and was used to having lightning bugs every summer, so I'm thrilled to see these. I wonder if we have so many this year because of destruction of habitat up-stream. I have enjoyed looking at your information on hummingbirds, too. Thanks!
June 4, 2005: 11 year old Nate reports: On June 1, 2005, at around 9:00 to 9:30 p.m., in northwest Austin, Texas, near a creek in a very wet area watered by a lot of sprinklers at an office park where my Dad works, I saw lots of fireflies.
June 3, 2005: A reader notes: My back yard in Knoxville, Tennessee, has about 50 fireflies lighting up the grass. It seem as the years go by the numbers seem to get smaller here in the city. As a child living in Maryville Tennessee the numbers were so much greater. But the kids still catch them and put them in a jar, just like the generation before them.
June 3, 2005: Christine Sadzak notes: The last 2 nights (June 1 and 2) I have witnessed fireflies in the wooded rural area that I live in. I live in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, which is in northern Alberta, and have never seen any up here before. There were enough fireflies to light up parts of the bush behind my house. It hasn't been raining at all but it has been about 25-30 deg C for about the past week.
June 2, 2005: A reader notes: Although I too was under the impression that Houston was influenced by some condition which inhibited fireflies, my wife and I have nightly seen fireflies for the past month in our back yard and the woodlot, behind the rear of our home. We live in Spring, Texas, in a new subdivision off Cypresswood, about two miles east of the Hardy Toll Road. Despite the presence of street lights and a mosquito spraying program we have seen dozens of insects about two hours after dusk. The neighborhood is densely populated south of Cypresswood; however, the woods to the north of us are undeveloped. We are also very close to a bayou which drains into a water treatement facility, which may be a contributing factor.
June 2, 2005: Paul K. Smith notes: I live in Austin, Texas, in a neighborhood with many fireflies. I have noticed that during the day they like to rest on the crepe myrtle trees in my condo complex. I have a theory that they eat the sap of those trees. So maybe planting more crepe myrtles in Houston might help support fireflies?
June 1, 2005: A reader writes: I am writing you in response to the article I read on your website concerning fireflies in Houston. I live just south of Beltway 8 in Brookside Village, Texas, on the north side of Pearland, and first noticed fireflies in my yard, and primarily the vacant lot adjoining my lot about May 11. They have become even more plentiful in the past few days. I grew up in Houston, off Edgebrook, and have never seen fireflies in the area. I was used to traveling to relatives homes, about 60 miles south of Nashville, Tennessee, where they are a staple of every summer evening. In fact I took my daughter there two years ago to introduce her to that spectacle. I was excited to discover them here in the Houston area and am hoping they have been thriving in my location, as this is my first summer at this home.
May 31, 2005: A reader writes: My family and I went on a walk this evening to our local park here in Frisco, Texas. It is May 31, 2005, the temperature was 78 with a light breeze and partly cloudy skies. To our amazement, we found hundreds of fireflies flitting about. My son found another treasure in a snake skin. 7 flies apiece for the two kids, will be released later into our yard in hopes that they may find a home. Thanks for your site, we will post next time.
May 29, 2005: Lola Mensing notes: I live in Bryan, Texas, and have seen fireflies for the first time in almost 50 years. I am not native to this area, but to Southern California where these insects are practically non-existent. The last time I was able to see them was on a family visit to rural southern Alabama when I was nine. Our home is inside the city, but our backyard is like its own nature preserve where we have observed owls, a fox, squirrels, raccoons, and many species of birds. Because, in the past few weeks, I have seen the fireflies in my backyard, I started searching the web for information about them and came across your site. After viewing an excellent photo of fireflies from the Ohio State website, I noticed that the Crepe Myrtle trees in the parking lot where I work seem to be a feeding/resting place for them. If the beetles I have observed in these trees are truly fireflies, they also seem to have the ability to "spit" into the air surrounding them. I say "spit" even though the minute moisture particles appear to emanate from the anterior region of the beetle. I was hoping that you would be able to confirm my conclusions regarding the beetles I have seen by either acknowledging that unusual activity or that Crepe Myrtles may be a preferred food source for adults. I have enjoyed visiting your website and reading about other sightings. May 26, 2005: A reader notes: As a kid in Kansas I remember chasing and playing with "lightning bugs." Now I live in Costa Rica. The only times I've seen them here they are almost always alone. I never see them in groups as I did back in Kansas. I guess I shouldn't complain though, at least I always see one. Pura Vida!
May 25, 2005: Eric Livingston notes: I live in (and grew up in) San Antonio, Texas, and although I remember seeing fireflies when I was a kid in open fields, I can't recall seeing fireflies until tonight. We just recently bought a house that backs up to McAlister Park, which is a very large city park just north of the airport. I'm sure that without the nearby park, we wouldn't see them; however, since most of the park is dense woods, it is like we are close to nature, yet still in the city. I was over there this evening after we closed on the house and was pleasantly surprised with more than a few of the little lightning bugs flying around the yard. To provide you with some unscientific data, today was May 25, and was an exceedingly warm day (about up to 95 F). Humidity was probably around 50%. The fireflies were seen around and just after dusk. I can't wait to get settled in the house so I can teach my 4 year old how to chase and catch the neat little bugs. Thanks for your site.
May 25, 2005: A reader notes: Spotted numerous fireflies last night as we drove thru the Sabine River bottom on Hwy 43 from Marshall, Texas, to Henderson, Texas. It is wild land. Even though the river is low, the fireflies were numerous. We stopped by the side of the road and just enjoyed looking at them.
May 25, 2005: Chris Moser writes: My family and I spent last week in Castell, Texas, on the Llano River. Plenty of fireflies came out at about 9 pm each night on the heavily vegetated slope leading down to the river.
May 24, 2005: A reader writes: I live on the Gulf Coast of Texas and never see fireflies here but have a sister in Austin, Texas, who has them this time of year in her back yard. She does have a pond and there are many trees in the neighborhood but she also lives about 6 blocks off Interstate 35. I'm hopeing to import fireflies to my own back yard as I have a pond, trees, and many flowering plants. So far have not found anyone selling fireflies.
May 23, 2005: A reader writes: Hello. I live in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the city no less. We do have fireflies, and I would love a whole lot more. It is difficult to find out anything on the firefly - life cycle, food, etc. If you have any information I would greatly appreciate it. Fireflies and Humming Birds are, well, things I would like to have more of in my back yard.
May 23, 2005: Wendy Di Pietro writes: I spotted my first firely last night in Cedar Park, Texas, and then, about two hours later, my husband got to see it too. Seemed to be a solo fella.
May 23, 2005: A reader writes: This past May 28, in Lyerly, Georgia, I went outside and saw thousands of flashing lights in the sky and near the ground. The only thing I could think of was lightning bugs (fireflies). I had an 80 year old relative with me and claims he had never seen such a swarm. Neither had I. They were there for several days.
May 23, 2005: A reader reports: From Cedar Hill , Tennessee. It is a full moon. We have six acres of grass cut about eight inches tall, and we are surrounded by old growth forests on two sides, and open fields. No lights, but the thousands of fireflies that seem to be at full peak. We have enjoyed their light show display each night.
May 23, 2005: A reader notes: Hi! I just wanted to let you know that we have abundant fireflies in our backyard here in far north Dallas, Texas. Our home is a new home and is near a creek which runs in the back, but we are also close to a very busy street in the front of the property. Many of the homes on the other side of the creek are older (60's and 70's)but we have been so pleased to be treated to their light show every evening for the last three weeks or so.
May 23, 2005: Jack Drobisch writes: Don't know if you're still counting but we had a few fireflies last week and tonight, 5/23/05, the magic started. They are in good numbers and I am looking foward to the weeks ahead when they get real thick. I was born & raised in Florida and saw them as a kid but they seem to have disappeared in the early 60's. I now live in Penrose, North Carolina, and love to see them in June. A friend from Florida is sending his youngest son (12 years old) up here to the mountains to spend two weeks with my wife and me and I think I'm more excited than he is because he has never seen fireflies. They were so thick last year they looked like white flashing Christmas lights. It's 65 degrees and 9:30 PM. We live in a valley at the base of Jeter Mountain. There is pasture in front and forest behind us.I have the jars ready.(Memories in a bottle.) Thanks for your site!
May 22, 2005: A reader writes: Being a Houston native, I had not seen a firefly in years; we are talking a lot of years. Our home was in Houston's east end in the early nineteen fifties, fireflies were a fairly common occurrence, and we often had firefly lanterns. They lent much magic to our childhood. Our home was approximately four blocks from the Buffalo Bayou. I had assumed that these lighters of the night had become extinct; that is, until we moved to our new home. I currently maintain an office in Houston, but I now reside in LaGrange, Texas. Wonder of wonders the fireflies are alive and well. Last night we had the privilege of introducing our grandsons and son to the thrill of the fireflies. Last year, and this year as well, we have been well entertained by these little beacons of brightness. We live approximately five hundred yards from the Colorado River. Looking down from our bluff towards the river there is a light show, that is unequaled by man. Thousands of these tiny insects virtually light the river banks and surrounding areas. Have faith. They have Houston surrounded.
May 22, 2005: A reader writes: We just went to Brazos Bend State Park in Texas, and I saw my very first fireflies! They were amazing! I came across your website when I first moved here to Texas from California two years ago and I was bummed that there didn't seem to be many firefly sightings in the area because I so wanted to see one after seeing the display about them at the Butterly Exhibit at the Natural Science Museum. Well, let me tell you that we hiked at dusk around the large lake at Brazos and they were in the brush lighting up so nicely. When it grew dark we went to the Observatory and they were there too! Unfortunately we saw some boys that had caught some in a jar and I just wanted to tell their parents to teach them to appreciate nature better. Anyway, here's the info about the sighting: 5/21/05, around 8 pm or when it was starting to get dark, large lake - about one firefly every two feet (in the brush/trees along the right side of the hiking path, not the side where the water is), path to observatory - a handful of fireflys (on both sides where the little bridge crosses the water). According to my partner, who has seen tons of fireflies in Virgina, our sighting had a "medium amount" of fireflies.
May 21, 2005: A reader writes: There weren't any fireflies when I moved to northwest Austin, Texas, six years ago. There are fireflies, though, in the other parts parts of the city and in outlying areas. About four years ago a friend of our neighbor caught some (maybe ten or so), and released them here. Now, the firefly population has grown so that we can spot several in everyone's yard. If you want fireflies in your yard, try to see if there are a few in a nearby town and drive them over. Have patience and perhaps the following year you'll be pleasantly surprised.
May 21, 2005: L. Langee writes: There weren't any fireflies when I moved to northwest Austin, Texas, six years ago. There are fireflies, though, in the other parts parts of the city and in outlying areas. About four years ago a friend of our neighbor caught some (maybe ten or so), and released them here. Now, the firefly population has grown so that we can spot several in everyone's yard. If you want fireflies in your yard, try to see if there are a few in a nearby town and drive them over. Have patience and perhaps the following year you'll be pleasantly surprised.
May 21, 2005: Chris Peyton writes: I was doing a search for Fireflies on the Web and found your site. I am happy to report that for the first time since I was a kid (I'm 44 yrs old now), I'm seeing Fireflies all over my neighborhood. I live in a little community close to Medina Lake, Texas, here in Lakehills. There are not as many as I saw when I was young, but just seeing them again has given me hope that they are coming back again. I think a big part of this is that there is not as much chemical use in lawns. I know that I stopped using any chemical sprays or spreads about 5 or 6 years ago for this very reason. Insecticides kill not only unwanted bugs, but all the bugs. And for that matter all little creatures like lizards and such. So anyway, I just wanted to send you this happy e-mail about the Fireflies. Or as I've always called them . . . Lightning Bugs.
May 21, 2005: Andrew Barney notes: I read a report on fireflies in Wisconsin. The person writing thought it was too hot and dry here for them. If you are priviliged like me, you might see a few near the river on the bike trail here in Loveland, Colorado.
May 20, 2005: Judy Kitchens reports: I moved to the Hoovers Valley, Texas, area along the Colorado River between Inks Dam and the upper reaches of Lake LBJ in 2003. I saw my first firefly in the summer of 2004. I only saw one, and it was only here for a short time, late twilight to dark. I saw my first one in 2005 about May 8, and have been seeing 3-5 nearly every evening. Two of the fireflies have have been directly in front of my porch where I built a flower bed, heavily mulched, over the winter. I do not know if this area, which is moist and shaded during much of the daytime has attracted them. I do not have fire ants. One has flown up under the eaves of my porch and rested for a period of time on several evenings. I have 1/2 acre, mostly grass. I have a huge live oak tree in my back yard, and a pond and waterfall system. I also have a garden. I am about 250 feet from the river, and about 35 feet above it.I was very interested to read the comment from one observer about the fireflies on his okra. I have not planted any before, but will do so next year.
May 19, 2005: A reader reports: Saw lots of lightening bugs at my farm in Shelby County, Texas, (between Center and Garrison) last weekend. They were in my pines and also my hardwood forest. It was Saturday, May 14, around 7:00 pm.
May 18, 2005: A reader writes: A reader reports: Houston, Texas: Just saw a fair scattering of lightening bugs at Mercer Arboretum and Botanical Gardens where I work, this evening around 8 pm, back by the lily pond, in the woods.
May 15, 2005: I went to your website concerning tomatoes in Houston, and noticed the article on fireflies. I have always enjoyed fireflies when visiting relatives in Tennesee, about 60 miles south of Nashville, where they have always been very plentiful. On Wednesday, May 11, 2005, I was suprised to notice a number of fireflies in my yard and the vacant lot adjoining it in Brookside Village, Texas, on the north side of Pearland and just south of the beltway. I am a native Houstonian, having grown up in a neighborhood near Edgebrook and the Gulf Freeway, and have never seen fireflies in this area either. I am hoping that this will be an anual event, I just moved into this house in February, and was very happy to discover them.
May 15, 2005: A reader writes: I live in Fort Worth, Texas, and have the only yard in my neighborhood that has fireflies. The neighborhood kids come to my yard to try to catch the fireflies. The only thing I can attribute it to is no fertilizer or pesticide since I moved into my house in 1981. I first noticed the fireflies had arrived in about 1989-91 which is about the same time that I roto tilled the yard and planted fescue grass seed. They were not around prior to that time. I cut the grass long (4-5 inches) this time of year and resist mowing as long as possible. I think the cutting kills the fireflies by vacuming them out of the grass. Right now there are 15-20 fireflies working in both the front and back yards. The yard is well shaded by fruitless mulberry trees with, on average, 4-6 inch deep grass.
May 14, 2005: Belinda Kirkhuff writes: I just found your site and think it’s great!!! Thank you for working to save the fireflies. I’m writing this on May 14, 2005, and this happened last night just before sunset and lasted just about three hours. Our backyard is mostly grass, with a few trees and vines and borders a very busy street where traffic is pretty heavy around dusk, but, thank goodness, it doesn’t seem to bother the lightning bugs at all. My father and I have just recently moved here to Round Rock, Texas, from California and I have never seen a lightning bug in my life before. As we were sitting in our backyard just before sunset we started to notice little sparks of light, flashing in the air. It was so beautiful that I wanted to see one close up. I was able to walk right up to one and closed my hand around him, put him in a glass and get a closer look. It brought to mind stories that I used to hear as a child about children running around and catching these bugs in glass jars. They are just as you have described them. Not like flies at all but like small narrow beetles and that belly!!!! It actually flashed while we were looking at him and it was the most beautiful neon green color that you can imagine. We took him back outside and let him go, where he promptly flew away, flashing, trying to find his mate. I am a 52 year old woman and this made me feel like a young child, watching these wondrous creatures. Thank God that He gave us these beautiful little creatures to watch and be entertained by.
May 12, 2005: A reader writes: Along the greenbelt at Wilcrest off Memorial drive in west Houston, Texas, there are several fireflies each evening (I see around 10-12 per night). Great Site.
May 12, 2005: Claudia Springer writes: Hi. I live in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and haven't seen fireflies here in over 10 years. I've been told it was the chemicals from the golf courses that are creating a problem for fireflies. The past week, however, I have seen fireflies in my back yard again! For the most part, the weather has been beautiful each night of the sighting, about 68 degrees, clear as a bell, 8:30 pm. Same scenario each night. I live in a suburban neighborhood, but my yard is landscaped with mature viburnum, ptysporum, and lots of honeysuckle - however, as before (nearly 10 years ago), the fireflies seem to like the viburnum. It seems unusual that they should be seen this early in the year and also with our weather so unusually cool right now. Even as a kid I remember loads of fireflies in July, and especially after a rain. I've only seen two at the most but before dusk today (May 12), I watered the yard in hopes that tonight's sighting would have more fireflies. Yep, I was right! Same time: 8:30 pm, about 68 degrees, clear, saw 5 fireflies. Hope this helps.
May 12, 2005: Cyndi A. Franz writes: In our wonderful Fawnlake Subdivision in Katy, Texas, (77493) we have several fireflies. My children and I set in the backyard and watch them quite a bit. I was worried that the mosquito spray that the city of Katy does may be the reason why we do not see as many of them as I would like to. Is there something I can do to increase the population?
May 12, 2005: A reader notes: We just moved to Temple, Texas (north of Austin, south of Waco). We built a house in a golf course community - we back up to a dry creek and a thin strip of woods. Beyond that is an open meadow. Last night I saw a flash in the woods and thought someone was there. Then, another flash. . . again. . . more! I sat down and watched for about 10 minutes. In that time I saw over 100 flashes - the area the flashes covered was about 30 yards wide. Incredible! I'm from California and had never seen a firefly. Can't wait for it to get dark so I can watch again!
May 12, 2005: Marietta MCall, owner of Acorn Bed and Breakfast writes: I live in Boerne, Texas, and on Sunday, Mother's Day, we had a terrible storm. We got 3 1/2 inches of rain in about 2 hours. That night at about 8:30 pm I saw my first fireflies for the season in our back yard. We live in the Texas Hill Country and our back yard is a designated backyard habitat ,very green and lush with bird and butterfly gardens, babbling brook and fishpond. You can see pics by going to www.acornbandb.net. I saw about 20 fireflies Sunday night and every night since then, I continue to see them about 8:30 each night. I wonder if I am first to report a sighting for 2005. I shall keep you posted about more sightings and if the numbers increase as time goes by this Spring. Warm regards.
May 11, 2005: A reader writes: Last night we observed "hundreds" of very young fireflies. This was very exciting for both of my older children. Description of land, location and time of day/ night: wooded area, dry sandy soil, wild honeysuckles nearby-interesting, dusk dark, located on Mobile/ Washington County Line in Citronelle, Alabama. If my family can be of any further assistance to you in your tracking or observing fireflies in our area, please let us know. Good luck with your endeavors.
May 11, 2005: A reader notes: I live in Hilliard, Florida, and have a 40 acre farm mostly woodlands. Happy to say that the fireflies are thriving well here at Country Day Castle and Stable. We offer all kinds of activities here and one thing for sure, you will see plenty of fireflies starting April through October.
May 9, 2005: A reader reports: I don't even know if you are keeping track anymore but I just wanted to let you know that last night May 9, 2005, around 9:30 I saw about 10 to 15 fireflies. I live in Deer Park, Texas, really close to Highway 225. There is a empty field and a tree line between my back yard and 225 and they were flying in the tree line. I managed to catch 2 of them. They were close to an inch long and lighting up like crazy. I have lived in this house for five years and this is the first time I have ever seem them here. Last night the weather was a warm and sticky. I was every surprised to see them here since I am so close to Shell Chemical Plant. Thank you for your time.
May 9, 2005: Dave and Janet Griffiths write: We have just come back from a stroll along Buffalo Bayou in Houston, Texas, between West Belt and Wilcrest. We were walking at about 8-8:45 pm and saw literally thousands of fireflies in the vegetation close to the bayou. Most were up to about six feet above the ground, but quite a few up to 20-25 feet. We've been making this walk for the past 25 years, and I believe these are the highest concentrations we've seen.

2004

April 22, 2004: A reader writes: Hi. Are you still taking these reports? I live in Gainesville, Florida. It is April 22, 2004, and 77 degrees. I saw what looked like a large firefly, 9:30 pm, flying just beneath the tree branches. It's flight pattern reminded me of a butterfly; the light regularly pulsed on and off and was bright. When it caught my attention, I first thought it was something else. I did not see any others. Seemed odd, it made me curious about fireflys, they see so rare anymore.
April 12, 2004: A reader reports: On March 27, 2004, about 1930 hours 3 miles south of Magnolia, Texas, we saw about ten fireflies at an elevation of about 20 feet. Conditions: Wonderful evening with a slight breeze, just tested all sprinklers and yard was moist, good stand of rye remaining so grass is rather high, heavily treed yard. I was remarking to my wife about having seen the small group and recall how thick they were 35 or 40 years ago when we were children in eastern Oklahoma. They have even disappeared there, as have the horned toads. I've often wondered where they all went and attribute the loss to insecticides/pollution etc. Light pollution is acute about these parts. I see no burning need to light the night like the day nor to light the sky when a hood on fixtures could focus the light downward where it is desired by some instead of lighting the heavens like a searchlight. Thanks, and when you find a source for repopulation let us know.
April 7, 2004: A reader notes: New house... have been hoping and watching for fireflies. Have had deer, hummingbirds, over 15 types of birds thus far, butterflies, squirrels, our own opossum... but no fireflies. Until tonight! There were hundreds in the backyard & into the woods! Finally. I had to leave the Braves game to stand out on the back porch and watch as they flitted about the yard. I was amazed at the numbers. It's going to rain later tonight, temperatures in the high sixties. Fayette County, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, Georgia.
March 15, 2004: In the first report for 2004, a reader notes: I have not seen fireflies for about 15 years in south eastern Canada. I have been in south Texas for those last 15 years and just last night in Corpus Christi, Texas, after two days of light rain, at about 7pm - 8pm I saw fireflies flickering, rate about 2 per 100 square feet. I called to my wife "remember the fireflies up north?, they are here too." I just thought they were a northern insect. Anyhow, sparking my thoughts, I decided to look on the web to see where they travel. I found your site and make this report.

2003

June 1, 2003: A reader notes: I moved here from North Carolina and had given up on seeing them again (they were plentiful in the summer in Raleigh NC) but I did see a sparse few here recently where I live in Melrose, Florida. Since I was not aware of your website until now I cannot give you any exacts other than that it was in March or April of 2003. They were hard to spot and didn't come at night but right around dusk. I also live in a very rural wooded area. I will keep on the lookout and keep you informed.
May 31, 2003: A reader writes: I left Massachusetts over 20 years ago. I had not seen fireflies since then until now. I had heard of legends of these magical creatures in a cow pasture on the north side of Brigham City, Utah. I found it hard to believe until I drove down an old dirt road to investigate it . . . and there they were sending messages while the rest of us were making hay. I brought a truckload of giggling teenagers to the site and they immediately became silent with awe as we watched the carefree little lights dance across the meadows.
May 30, 2003: A reader notes: We have seen a few, although not too often. We moved up in the woods, East of The Woodlands, Texas, and tonight, May 30th, 2003, from the Hot(cool) Tub, we witnessed a couple of fireflies moving about in the trees and above the grass over the flower beds. This was near 8-8:30 PM and not too much additional lighting was present. Their little lights flitting about were a sight to behold and my wife commented where did they all go, from when we were children in this area. I remember way back, in Arkansas being with my friends while parents were barbequing and socializing, all of us kids would run the yards and the woods behind the houses, catching fireflies. I look back now and wonder, did I help to cause the very few sightings we have now. Enjoyed your site. You have several interests that greatly intrigue me. I also have a Cherokee heritage and would like to pursue it. Will use your links to begin. Thanks for sharing.
May 29, 2003: A reader reports: I live in Columbia, Maryland, which is a planned community of about 95,000 southeast of Baltimore. Columbia is essentially the eastern half of Howard County. We have a few strips of "wetlands", where the developers could not build due to creeks and brooks, and most of them have bike/walking paths. In that they are near water (most of the year) and it is usually warm here, we have fireflies. They are a little late this year, but I just brought in five for my grandkids to mess with. We will let them go in a while. These are still larvae, and they give off a greenish-white glow. I was surprised (sort of) to read in your treatise that they eat snails, worms, and slugs. They start flying in early July normally, and disappear in September.
May 28, 2003: A reader writes: We live at Struther's Lake (30 miles southeast of Prince Albert , Saskatchewan , Canada). Tonight at our house there were around 200 fireflys or more , this is not uncommon . Just about every night we get a light show unless it is windy . They will be around here till late fall . We like them.
May 27, 2003: A reader writes: Living in Chesapeake, Virginia, I've noticed over a 14 year span that some years they are abundant, while other years there are few out and about, so to speak. It seems like every 3 or 4 years a whole bunch pop up then the next year they diminish somewhat. the year after even less then bam, they are back in the millions.
May 25, 2003: A reader notes: Round Rock , Texas. In my back yard
May 23, 2003: A reader writes: Serendipity. My wife and I were just discussing why there are no fireflies in Houston. While searching the internet about fireflies I found your site and thought how funny that there are others with the same concerns. We now live in Katy, Texas, just next to George Bush Park and have been upset that we haven't seen any out here either in the past two years that we have lived here. As the park is very large, if you are not familiar with it, and very dark at night and seems to be a perfect area for them and we figured we would see them. We even wondered if there were a way to "seed" the area by getting a fair amount of the little buggers and transplanting them in the park. Who knows? My wife even mused it would be interesting if there were a firefly farm for just that purpose. Well tonight I was outside and happened to see one single solitary one. It actually startled me at first as I boggled at what the light source was, definitely not expecting a firefly ( I thought it was some kids with a pocket flashlight playing around in the field ). I then ran in and got my wife and we watched it till it flew up to a tree just next to our house where I was able to inspect it closely. I am excited and hoping it is a sign of more to come but as it was all alone I began to think maybe it rode in on someone's car or the like and was just misplaced. Let's hope not. George Bush Park is just due west of Highway Six at Westheimer (behind West Oaks Mall). I am not sure of the acreage but we are on the far west side which I believe is approximately seven miles west of Highway Six down Westheimer Parkway and I thought you may like to know they (or at least one) has shown up here. As it is only May 22, I will bookmark your site and let you know if I see more. I was curious if you have had any other reported sightings in or close around Houston. Maybe Bear Creek Park or Memorial Park? Hoping to see more.
May 23, 2003: A reader notes: I applaud your efforts to encourage more fireflies in the city. I now live in a semi-rural area between Red Oak and Ferris Texas, south of Dallas. I have tons of fireflies in my yard and all along my street. I've noticed that they prefer damper areas, like creek banks and drainage ditches. On one side of my property is a large undeveloped area, wooded and also some fields, and I don't see so many in that area. The other side has a seasonal creek and the fireflies really like being on that side of my property, although they don't get "in" the ditch, necessarily. Maybe the softer earth is easier to lay eggs in and burrow out of. My personal opinion is that the repeated application of pesticides in suburban settings, along with the lack of native weedy type plants has drastically reduced fireflies and other wonderful critters. I wonder if Bt can also harm them?
May 23, 2003: Peggy Milam writes: We are seeing more fireflies this year in our Crestwood neighborhood at Birmingham, Alabama. I believe it may be because the milkweeds have been allowed to grow in a couple of lots in our neighborhood. I counted only about 15 tonight in a 200 foot area but I''m glad to show those to our 3 year old. Over the last 5 years, I'd say this is the strongest they've been.
May 22, 2003: A reader writes: Hi there- What a great website! I live in Spring, Texsas. I found a small bend in Cypress Creek near Stuebner Airline that must attract all sorts of wonderful creatures. In the past week I have seen a Whooping Crane wading, numerous bigger-than-life swallowtail butterflies, and then this evening a small herd of fireflies glinting around the bayou. There were maybe ten flashers, but what a sight! The area is also heavily infested with fire ants, as well as all kinds of butterflies and vegetation. The creek is easily accessible through Cypresswood Park for those in the area. I also saw a medium-sized dark blueish/black bird with a gull-shaped wing (like a boomerang) that needs some identification. It had a thick neck, light-colored beak, and could not have been a crow. Male kestrel maybe? Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to express my appreciation for fireflies and their neighbors.
May 19, 2003: A reader notes: Doing some surfing about lightning bugs and came across your delightful web site. Well done! Couldn't hardly be a better project for our fair city than yours. I'm emailing because we live in Friendswood, Texas, and have started to see scads of "lightning bugs" again. Live up against a creek, and I used to chase them with my kids, now all grown, and only one grandchild, who is still too young to scamper across the lawn, dancing with the remarkable lightning bug. They are a charming manifestation of a wondrous creation and I applaud your endeavor. For the record, there are dozens and dozens of flashes around us and have been for several days now....I was just up in Austin, visiting a married son, and while we're sitting in his back yard dozens of sparkling fireflies begin to launch from the grass into the air! Once again, what a delightful critter...I wish you well
May 19, 2003: A reader writes: I saw a single individual near Houston on my property in Brookside Village, Texas, again tonight. One thing I notice is the weather was quite warm, humid and the wind was unusually calm compared to the other nights I was out and didn't see any fireflies. I occsionally use the internet to predict visual satellite oportunities and I spotted the firefly just after I had spotted the UARS satellite overhead and the firefly was down rather close near my feet. The firefly seemed timid and was flashing rapidly and was emitting short flashes almost like a fast frequency aircraft strobe. It did this for 5-10 seconds then stopped.
Time: 21:45
Dew Point: 74°F
Humidity: 87%
Visibility: 6.0 miles
Pressure: 29.94 inches and rising
May 17, 2003: Melody Townsel reports: Hello, there: Tonight in North Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas, Sadie, my three-year-old, and I were sitting on the porch when we spotted what initially looked like 3-4 fireflies, but what turned out to be a large group of about 40 of them buzzing around our yard and several others on our block. This was the first time my daughter has been able to see a firefly, and to be surrounded by so many was magical! She chased them around the yard screaming, "Come back, come back!," and then began doing a little dance number she called the firefly ballet. We'll definitely hit the porch tomorrow night to see if we're able to spot more!
May 16, 2003: Lisa Onizuka writes: We encountered our first ever fireflies (saw 3 or 4) tonight in Round Rock Texas, along Brushy Creek on a trail behind our apartment complex. Along this creek there are oak trees and an impressive variety of understory bushes, grasses and flowers. I don't know what all the plants are, but if it would be helpful I'd be happy to key them out. Thank you for your conservation efforts!
May 15, 2003: A reader notes: We saw quite a few (hundred) of them this evening around 8:00 in northwest Dallas, Texas, at the creek near Royal Park. Very woodsy-looking along creek. (Ryan was very good at catching them.)
May 14, 2003: A reader writes: I live in a rural area between Crosby and Huffman, Texas, and am seeing fireflies right now, especially in the tops of the trees. I've found they like okra plants and are seen clinging to the stalks during the day. When I first moved to Houston in 1965 there were hundreds to be seen every night. Ditto for the middle of New Orleans in the 50's. I have not seen a firefly in New Orleans in 35 years. The most I have ever seen were in Vermont. Good luck with this project; if we lose fireflies forever it will be a sad day.
May 13, 2003: A reader notes: This is the second sighting I've registered for Pearland, Texas. I see from my previous posting that I saw one in May 9th of last year. This year it's May 12th, and virtually the same time, conditions and location, and again only one flying individual. Thanks for doing this. I think this is amateur science at its best and it helps the "real" scientists by providing a database for further study.
May 12, 2003: A reader reports: Sighted lone firefly in Buffalo Bayou Friday night, May 9th around midnight and Monday night around 11 PM. Exact location: East end of Post Oak Timber Drive just outside of 610 West Loop on the bayou, Houston, Texas. I hope to see more.
May 12, 2003: A reader reports: We live in Fort Bend County, Texas, just west of Pecan Grove, very near the Brazos River. Yesterday, around dusk we were in our back yard and saw at least 2 fireflies braving a rather stiff breeze. I hope they come back!
May 12, 2003: R Adams writes: I live just North of Houston, Texas off Hwy 105 about halfway between Conroe and Cleveland, Texas. I see lots of fireflies around my property every night about this time of year (April - May). Part of my property is well lighted, while most of it is in the dark. I noticed that the fireflies do tend to stay in the darker areas of my property.
May 10, 2003: A reader writes: I just came across your site this week, and was thrilled to see the interest in fireflies. I was seeking information on these charming little creatures, worried that I may have harmed the ones I have on my property by spraying with an herbicide. It is still early to tell , but as of tonight I don't think any real damage has been done
I will begin by telling you of the sightings we had late last spring. As we walked around our garden one evening in the latter part of May as I recall, looking around in the brushy areas I was astounded to see what appeared to be hundreds of fireflies. So many that at first glance I thought my husband had put out strings of chasing Christmas lights! After living and gardening on this site for 22 years and seeing only a few scattered fireflies, this was a truly amazing site to behold. We invited friends for several evenings to come and enjoy this phenomenal display. No one could recall ever seeing so many; of these little creatures in one place at any time in our lives. Most of us arein our mid 40s, and all have memories of catching fireflies in jars as children, now we are quite content to sit on the patio and watch the amazing light show they provide
We live in Natalbany, Lousiana. Along the East Ponchatoula Creek, just a few miles from Tickfaw, a site previously posted on your site. Our garden sits beside a small creek surrounded by pines and oaks with under brush. At the time of the sighting, we had a very wet spring, but had begun to need to water and I attributed the increase in fireflies to the use of sprinklers that had watered the area well, who knows. The display of the hundreds of fireflies only lasted for a few days and after that through out summer there were not as many to be seen, probably 20 or so noted in an average evening.  Some one posted a question about seeing them high in the trees, I have noted that they start out the evening from the underbrush or from the leaf cover of the ground, but as they fly around they will go higher into the trees
Back to this evening, it is May 09, 2003, and I have just returned inside after checking to see if the fireflies have emerged in full force. I have seen a few for a couple of weeks of so now, but have not had the chance to check them at dusk when they first emerge, until this evening. As expected the underbrush has started to come to light! I have counted approximately 200 synchronized flashes. Some are still a little further back into the brush than noted last year, but I will be checking to see if they come in and begin to emerge closer in as they did last year. At this time the display seems to be a little sparse compared to last years sightings. I will e-mail you again in a few days to give you an update. As I write this my husband called me into our living room, exclaiming "There's a lightening bug in here!" and sure enough, one had followed us inside and was sitting on a chair flashing quietly
May 9, 2003: A reader writes: We live in Weston, Florida, (Broward County) Our backyard is filled with fireflies. We live on a lake, have lots of flowers and butterfly gardens, and use no pesticides. It's really nice to see them out there.
May 7, 2003: Mary Schaad notes: I was watching the fireflies in my back yard last evening. Seems to me there are a few more this year than last and earlier too. Our neighbor does not have a porch light burning and I noticed the insects congregate in her yard more than ours; also they fly very high into the tops of the trees. We live inner city but amongst lots of trees in Tallahassee, Florida. We have four large butterfly bushes in the back yard. I was looking up information on what I can do to provide a stable environment for the fireflies to thrive in. There is something so peaceful and romantic about seeing them!
May 6, 2003: A reader writes: My kids and I delighted in the sighting of fireflies in my mom's backyard in San Antonio, Texas. She lives on the northwest side. I remember seeing large numbers of them as a kid in this same location, but we saw far fewer today. My kids were fascinated as they had never seen one before. I hope you are successful in your quest to bring them back in larger numbers. Thank you for your efforts.
May 4, 2003: Jennifer Frazier notes: Location: Point Barrow Road, Beach City, Chambers County, Texas. Around 8:00 pm I saw fireflies. Only saw a handful; caught one and realesed him. Last year I bought the home where I grew up, and as a child, there were millions. At that time, we were the only house on the road, secluded by miles and acres from any "progess." Now we back up to a neighborhood, have about 15 neighbors, but on our little 4 acres, we are lucky to have a large gully on the east border of the property that feeds out into Trinity Bay about 25 feet behind the south border of the property. The gully provides a natural habitat and if any scientist would like to study the habitat, feel free!
April 30, 2003: Shirley Kubin reports: Tonight, around 10 pm, I went out on the front porch and saw a single firefly above some tall grass in a pasture area in the front of our property. There is no pond or stream nearby. The only source of water is the chlorinated pool. I doubt fireflies would like that. We live in Crosby, Texas. We sometimes see a few fireflies, but nothing like I remember when I was a growing up.
April 30, 2003: Steven D. Selbe writes: We live in Kingwood, Texas, and moved to a new house, closer to the lake last year. Although the move was less than 2 miles or so we had never seen fireflies at the old house (lived there for 7 years). Our new house is bordered on two sides by greenbelts and the other side is the end of a cul-de-sac which is also undeveloped. We saw fireflies on several nights just about this time last spring (never more than 5 or 6 at a time-I thought my wife was seeing things when she first mentioned it) and have seen a couple so far this year. They seem to fly higher than the fireflies I remember as a kid.

April 27, 2003: A reader notes: I was researching lightning bugs and came across your page! I have a sighting report to add to the ones you've already collected. I was walking with my wife and little girls tonight in Oyster Creek Park in Sugar Land, Texas. Some of the trails go through open fields, and some go through wooded areas with lots of foliage near Oyster Creek. In the wooded areas we saw many lightning bugs. I caught a few and show them to the girls, then let the bugs go. We didn't see any in the open fields. They were also in the foliage along the parking lot which is next to the creek. I remember seeing Lightning Bugs in Indiana when I was a kid visiting my grandparents. The bugs were always in the high grasses near their house. So maybe the bugs like high grasses and/ or foliage. That would explain their absence on short grass manicured lawns. Take care.
April 26, 2003: Ron Ferris reports: My son and I just came in from walking the dog as we do most nights, but tonight we saw many fire flies. They were in the wooded area near the bayou or gully that runs along Cedar Drive in Dickinson, Texas. We both counted as many as 12 simultaneous flashes, and quite rapidly one group after another. I have not seen fireflies like this since I was a kid in Iowa. There were a few in the woods farther from the water, but nothing like the numbers we saw closer to the water. It was fun.
April 18, 2003: A reader reports: For the past week or so I've seen fireflies in my yard here in Nashville, Tennessee. They stay high in the trees, but they are flying from tree to tree. Any ideas about what kind of firefly I have? There are not nearly as many as in the summer. Thanks
April 16, 2003: A reader notes: I was watching tv when I saw a small light flashing by the front door. To my surprise it was a lone firefly. When I showed it to my wife she remarked that its been 10 years since we had seen one. We live in Spring Hill, Florida. The temperature was about 67 degrees. There was low humidity, and it was very dark outside, but the firefly seemed to be attracted to low light from inside our house. It stayed for about 45 minutes. The flashing was constant. The really nice part was that it would sit occasionally on the glass pane of the door and you could see it light up inches away.
April 13, 2003: A reader notes: I first spotted fireflies on April 12th, 2003 which seems very early in the year. I live in in the rural part of Niota/Athens, McMinn County, Tennessee. It was 57 degrees out. The time was approximately 9:30 p.m. Spotted only a handful. On April 13th, I watched at least a dozen or more lighting up the night. The area is partially wooded with open fields.
March 9, 2003: A reader writes: We have been out every evening the past week in Kingwood, Texas, and have been keeping an eye out for the fireflies, which usually appear around this time of year. We have now spotted the first ones of the season on March 9th. There were only about half a dozen, but historically the numbers increase for a few weeks, then taper off and they're gone before summer.

2002

December 9, 2002: A reader reports: Re fireflies in Bali - small green bioluminescent lights every 1 second at 21' Celcius, Humidity 69% Our location is 1000 ft altitude (AGL), rural outskirts of Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. Lat 8' S, Lon 150' E. Regrowth uncultivated jungle unchanged for the past 20 years. Artificial light - nil Habitat - lower valley/sparse rice paddies, hillside tropical undergrowth, local tree canopy 20 years ago 2 to 3 fireflies per night each of 2 bedrooms, now 1 firefly every 30 days nett. Conclusion: no habitat change, diminished firefly population, possibility of increased application or accumulation of pesticides newly introduced here. Any thoughts as to firefly attractions welcomed.
November 3, 2002: Odie and Marie Asscherick write: While conducting a guided night hike at Armand Bayou Nature Center in Houston, Texas, during the summer we noticed lots of fireflys along the Marten trail. It had been during a brief non-rainly part of the month of June 2002.
November 2, 2002: A reader notes: I read about you're request in the Houston Chronicle. I'm finally going to reply. My husband, Larry, and I live in a new town called Brazos Country, Texas. It's on the way to Sealy, just across the Brazos River. We love to sit outside just before dusk & watch for them. We see more near the wooded areas. It's one of the things that make us love living here. We're located in a subdivision where no-one can build on less than an acre of land. It's not the big city. We left Alief 12 years ago, and never saw fireflies there. We also never saw deer, armadillo, skunk, raccoon, and the various birds of prey. Someone even saw an eagle here. I think they like to live in the thick brush. I'll find them on my shrubs when I'm out working in the flower beds. Hope this helps.
October 17, 2002: A reader notes: We live in Boling, Texas, in Wharton County. We have lightening bugs. In the spring there are a few and their population seems to increase as summer progresses until July or so when there are quite a few (or maybe that's just when the heat and mosquitoes get so bad, I stay indoors more). I saw a few just last night. I too have memories of "swarms" of lightening bugs in Houston as a child and my brothers and myself catching them in jars (trying to see if we could get them to all glow at the same time) and have spent some time trying to figure out what happened to them. Since this is a rural area, many people here spray crops, yards, etc., and they use some pretty harsh chemicals AND crop dust! There aren't very many flowers or shrubs out here (at least, not like you'd find in a Houston subdivision, with all the landscaped yards). Most houses are small, yards larger with lots of pecan trees and some cedars...egg farms, grass farms...cotton and maize crops...a few horses, lots of cattle...and lots of stars! We just bought this house a year ago (and commute to Houston to work each day!) and I've been trying to start a "cottage garden", so I've been planting butterfly bushes, stocks, lavender, roses, irises, lilies, delphiniums, torenias, mums, geraniums, plumbago, snapdragons, larkspur, verbena, impatiens, etc., butterfly and bird baths, and a vegetable garden. However, the lightening bugs were here when we got here; I'd love to discover what to do to see them increase. Does anyone know if the carbon dioxide mosquito traps attract and trap the lightening bugs too?
October 17, 2002: Janet and David Griffiths report: We checked out your website after seeing Brenda Beust Smith's Oct. 12th article in the Houston Chronicle, having never given much thought to fireflies before in all honesty. It interested us and we went to see what we could find. We live off Buffalo Bayou in Houton, Texas, and over the past 25 years have often noticed fireflies along the bayou path at dusk. So, tonight we walked the roughly mile and a half path at 7 pm and counted 53 fireflies, among those probably some repeats . In case it's important, the bayou meadows either side of the path were mown yesterday and it rained 5 days ago. The stretch we walked is east of Wilcrest, off Wycliffe at Boheme, and goes as far as the sewage works just before West Belt. There are houses along the bayou path and some have bug zappers which were working. We are a Backyard Habitat and avoid pesticides, etc. but we don't recall ever seeing fireflies in the garden.
October 16, 2002: Deena Poteet reports: I read about your interest in fireflies in the Houston Chronicle and I just had to write. My husband and I moved to Rosenberg, Texas, about five years ago, and we noticed right away something we both hadn’t seen in a very long time; fireflies! We were so excited. It seems like in late spring they start coming out at dusk in large numbers, and when it starts getting really hot, their numbers decrease. We live on the very west side of Rosenberg in the “country”, so we are away from all the lights and get a great view of the little critters! Last week I was outside at dusk and saw some fire flies out. Usually when it starts getting colder the fire fly population diminishes. It reminds me of when I was a little girl and used to catch them on my Grandmother’s farm in Simms, Texas near Texarkana. Thanks for your interest in bringing back the firefly!
October 15, 2002: Marilyn Matney notes: I am writing in response to your request in the Chronicle concerning fireflies. Although we have not seen them recently (we saw hundreds of them summer 2000), we have seen them in the city. At that time we lived in a Houston community near Webster, Texas, (right off of I-45 between El Dorado and Bay Area Blvd.) in which our backyard looked out over a utility easement. This utility easement eventually connects with a long strip of Gulf prairie and marsh land alongside the freeway. We lived in that house for almost 8 years and saw fireflies periodically, but never anything like the summer of 2000! It was such a beautiful sight, with fireflies flitting about all over our backyard and up and down the utility easement. Bright city lights didn't seem to be a problem because our neighborhood was illuminated by I-45 freeway lights. We have since moved to Clear Lake City, where it is darker, but we have not seen a single firefly.
October 13, 2002: A reader writes: I love your Web site! Eclectic! I was raised in Arkansas and many summer nights were spent outdoors chasing fireflies and putting them in jars with holes punched in the top. We called them lightening bugs. I've lived in my home in Spring, Texas, for 16 years and the past couple years I've begun to notice a few fireflies. I have one in my front yard that I see almost every night, and sometimes spot one or two driving home on Cypresswood. I live east of 45 very near Mercer Arboretum. I have always followed organic gardening/composting principles. A worthy goal to bring back these beauties. Thank you!
October 13, 2002: A reader notes: There have been fireflies in Highlands, Texas, east of Houston, off and on all summer. We see them about three to four feet off the ground, hovering at the edge of the overgrown foliage as the hill starts down to the San Jacinto river. There have been more this year than in the last three or four years. I would love to see them all over again! Good Luck on your informal study!
October 12, 2002: A reader notes: I was so excited to hear about your website. We're at the Beltway and West Bellfort, 1 block south of that triangle formed by 59, the Beltway, and W. Bellfort in Houston, Texas. We have seen them since about June. Our property is heavily wooded, and we thought it was because we've been using lemon-scented detergent and ammonia as our bug spray - less toxic. We've seen quite a few and they were here all summer. I haven't seen any lately, but my significant other says he has.
October 12, 2002: Jeff Walker reports: I read in the Lazy Gardener article in today’s Chronicle of your interest in fireflies and wanted to let you know of a single firefly we recently spotted near my home here in Houston, Texas. We saw it at about 8 pm while riding bikes in the Willowbrook Subdivision just outside of the 610 loop. It was in a neighbor's yard with streetlights nearby and the landscaping seemed typical for our neighborhood, that is, nothing special. I suspect that if there was one, there must be others around. Our neighborhood borders a very large vacant field that apparently was once used for grazing or farming but has been allowed to go wild for decades. The field is now covered with trees, shrubs, grasses and wildflowers and attracts a variety of wildlife, particularly birds such as herons, egrets, hawks, neotropicals and finches at different times of year. Perhaps this is where the firefly came from, as it was spotted just a few blocks from the field.
October 12, 2002: Ginger Marshall writes: In today's Lazy Gardener column in the Houston Chronicle, Brenda Beust Smith mentioned we should contact you if we have fireflies in our area. I live in Village Grove East in Pasadena, Texas. This is a new subdivision, and we moved in our home a year ago. My backyard backs up to what I call the Fairmont Woods. This area will soon be the home of Pasadena's newest Hike and Bike Trail. It is my understanding the woods are to be kept in-tact and mostly undisturbed. But back to the fireflies. We have had many of them all year. In fact, I tell my grandchildren that the fireflies come out of the woods at night to dance with us. They are a beautiful sight. I hope this information is helpful to you.
October 12, 2002: Windy Wiedemann writes: I just read about you in the Lazy Gardener section of the Houston Chronicle. I noticed fireflies for the first time this year. I live 40 miles outside of Houston in Dayton, Texas, but thought you might be interested. I am an organic gardener, so maybe that's one of the reasons. One thing I do have, and am not proud of, is Kudzu. It is fast making inroads into the Houston area. Quite a shame and vitually impossible to contain. Well as Brenda would say, "tip of the trowel" to you and enjoy this bright October day.
October 12, 2002: Doyle and Maris Reynolds write: Such a coincidence! On Wednesday, Oct 8th, we ordered a Dominos Pizza, and when the delivery man came to our door, he was so excited to see fireflies around our front door . He lives in Fresno and hadn't see them in years. They are quite common here in Missouri City, Texas, especially in the Quail Valley/Lake Olympia area.
October 12, 2002: Jeanne writes: I read of your interest in fireflies in Brenda Beust Smith's column in today's Chronicle. We see fireflies in our yard every year in the late winter/early spring (Feb., March). They are only present for a few weeks. Our next door neighbors have installed "Moon lights" which they leave on all night long. I don't know if this will affect the fireflies. There has also been increased spraying because of the West Nile threat, although I never use pesticides personally. We are located in Kingwood, Texas. Our acre backs up to a section of the local branch (creek) and a green belt is on the other side of that, so it's quite wild. Our property has been left mostly natural as well, with only a small portion near the house actually planted in a more-or-less planned manner. It seems to me when I was a kid in the northeast (Virginia, Maryland and up-state New York) the fireflies were around most of the summer and were prevalent in the lawn areas. We don't have much lawn, and our lightning bug concentration tends to be thickest in the tree tops. If you have any other questions, feel free to e-mail me back, and I'd be interested in what you find out from others.
October 11, 2002: A reader reports: We had a sighting in Brazos Bend Park, Texas. . There were scatered sightings around the lakes and along the trails.
October 11, 2002: A reader notes: Kudos on your web page. I have enjoyed your page over time and we have the same interests. A couple of months ago I noticed a lot of fireflies in the Bear Creek Park just outside Houston, Texas, at dusk, some 300 yards west of the intersection of Clay and Eldrige. Fortunately I live outside the city limits and we are fortunate to have a healthy number of all kinds of flying creautures around here. We only lack bats.
October 7, 2002: A reader reports: Just last night I was on Kirkwood near BriarForest in the woods at the Bayou in Houston, Texas. I saw lots of these little creatures around 7 pm. Nice to see them again.
October 5, 2002: Adam Kittle notes: I live in Converse, Texas, a satellite town of San Antonio (about 15 miles northeast of downtown) and have seen lightning bugs in increasing numbers since early September. In fact the night after I first spotted them, one actually landed on my backward patio and flashed for several minutes as if to say "WE'RE BACK!" At first I only spotted one or two a night, but their numbers have slowly increased to the point where I'm seeing them in groups of four or more (every direction I look) between sundown and 11 pm. I have even seen one as late as 3 am. A drainage creek runs through part of the neighborhood, and it's also in an area that's not so congested - I'm guessing that's why they're here. I lived in Texas between 1991-1999 and never saw a single lightning bug during that time period. It's nice to see them again - I remember seeing them by the hundreds and even thousands growing up in Virginia and how mesmorizing they were.
October 2, 2002: A reader reports: I went to Trinity Church which has a huge field by a swamp in Ripon, Wisconsin. In Mid June through early July I use to go to the field around 9:00 pm when they would start to come out. I would catch about six dozen fireflies each night and put them in an aquarium and would replace them every three days. The population got lower as July progressed, but I am looking forward to seeing them next year.
September 18, 2002: Iris Black notes: Good Day. I love your site. We live in Paris, Texas. Beginning in early summer (June), we have an abundance of fireflies, and surprisingly enough, just last week, we saw a firefly. I have never seen one this late in the year. We are almost overrun with fire ants, so the theory of fire ants diminishing the production of fireflies does not hold true with our area; however, I think it does with the whippoorwill. There are none. Early last summer was the last one I heard. So sad. I enjoyed your site.
September 16, 2002: Pamela Clements reports: High. Enjoyed your site about fireflies. I grew up in Tampa, Florida, and when I was a kid we always sat on the porch and watching the "lightning bugs." Tampa, however, grew into a big city and the fireflies disappeared. I then moved to Sarasota, Florida and no fireflies there either. But 5 years ago I moved to Dade City, Florida, a tiny town 35 miles northeast of Tampa, and it is loaded with them! In fact, I see insects and wildflowers of all kinds not seen since I was a kid! But as to the fireflies, I live in a wooded area near many lakes and ponds - also, when it rains hard, they don't come out, and in years when we've had droughts they have been almost absent. I see more of them in darkened areas rather than neighbors homes which are lit up. Thanks again!
September 15, 2002: Barb notes: Hi. I just found your site. It's great. I just moved south of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. It 's an old suburb with houses built mostly between 1910 and 1920. I have seen lightening bugs the past few summers in my neighborhood - even though we are not at all rural. But there is a creek that runs thorough our neighborhood which is more like a storm run-off creek. It is an old creek and thus it is in a steep, narrow ravine. People don't visit the creek much and I suspect there are snails there, as it is very shady. Also the neighborhood is heavily treed and I know I have a lot of slugs in my backyard, which I am always battling. I usually don't have to water my yard much, but this summer was a little dryer than usual, so one evening I watered my front lawn. By dark, when I went to shut off the water, I was enchanted to observe a dozen of them dancing in the spray of the sprinkler. I now have a home on the Peace River upsteam from Punta Gorda, Florida. It is somewhat rural here, but I have not seen any lightening bugs after being here for a month. I wonder why.
September 6, 2002: Susan notes: When I was growing up in Channelview, Texas, during the 50-60's we had loads and loads of fireflies. Like you, I have wondered what happened to them. I read the theories on your site and one I've heard, but didn't see there, is that the chemical companies play a part in our current lack of "night-lights". I now live in Seabrook/Taylor Lake Village, Texas, and for about the last month we have had a few entertaining us in the evenings. I know it's silly but I was so excited when we saw the first one, I just hope maybe they'll stick around for a while! Thanks for your site, I enjoyed visiting it.
August 18, 2002: A reader reports: Hello there. To my surprise, in the past few nights we have been seeing fireflies here in League City, Texas -- not like when we were kids, but still. While sitting in the jacuzzi tonite, there were 2 fireflies. Friday night at my neighbor's house, there were quite a few. This is so exciting. If there's anything you have learned about how to create the perfect space to encourage fireflies, please let me know. My daughter has never seen them and doesn't understand how exciting it is to spot these guys. Thanks for your efforts.
August 18, 2002: A reader notes: Although I am using my daughters computer, I was sitting outside with my Grandaughter a few nights ago and was watching the fireflies when she ask what they were. She is 11 years old and had never seen a firefly. So we watched for a while. There was only one, for several days, but tonight we saw several. We live in Pasadena ,Texas. I haven't seen them for years; it sure brings back childhood memories!
August 11, 2002: A reader reports: Hello,I Live in Exeter, New Hampshire, and I am happy to say I have many. I can look out my bac