Notice some advanced darkness?
Fourth of July weekend, now a distant memory, is usually filled with fireworks and parties.. warmed beer and.. those fantastic lightning bugs. Move over fireworks, nature has the edge on you.
But not really anymore..
So who can recall those amazing summer nights with back yards and vacant row home lots near you filled with fireflies?
We would all play catch and release.. Jars with holes cut in the top with a knife. Those were the days, right?
But seriously.. where are the fire flies?
This year, as the July 4th fireworks exploded in various skies around, something was missing. Those magical experiences of catching lightning bugs. They were vanquished from our holiday. The air was devoid of their summer time brightness..
Fireflies are disappearing. While the exact reason isn’t known, three main factors are suspected: Habitat loss, toxic chemicals (which tend to linger in aquatic environments where fireflies start their lives) and light pollution.
According to Firefly.org:
“Most species of fireflies thrive as larvae in rotting wood and forest litter at the margins of ponds and streams. And as they grow, they more or less stay where they were born. Some species are more aquatic than others, and a few are found in more arid areas—but most are found in fields, forests and marshes. Their environment of choice is warm, humid and near standing water of some kind—ponds, streams and rivers, or even shallow depressions that retain water longer than the surrounding ground.”
Ancient Chinese lore thought that fireflies came from burning grass.. European legends warned that if a lightning bug flew into your window someone you knew would die.
By the way, they are not flies. They are beetles. And chemicals create the romance. Adenosine, triphosphate, luciferin, oxygen, magnesium, and luciferase. All meshed into a beautiful light in the summer.
The lights then flash for makes and females to find each other. The male flashes while then female perches on a blade of grass. Chemical romance for sure …
Female lay eggs through the summer that, if fate works, hatch in the spring. A hearty firefly–or beetle–will life from spring through fall, but the average lifespan is a week.
But not we wonder if they will even show up.
Magic of a hot summer night.. vanquished to memory?
