“ I hope you realize by now that every creature has a story, and that most of these stories have yet to be told.”
- Dave Goulson from A Buzz in the Meadow
Early June. Sunset. Time to exhale. Just past the back porch, I noticed a firefly. Fireflies! I had almost forgotten about fireflies. When was the last time I had seen one? I couldn’t remember. I tried to follow it as it zipped around the yard. Still, it seemed there was only one, one lone firefly. How strange. There it was, trying to signal to all the others. But where were all the others?
I decided to investigate. I found out that fireflies are in decline. Their habitat is disappearing as more and more open fields are being paved over. The good news? Wildlife gardening can easily help with that issue. All these beetles need is a source of water, rotting wood or forest litter for their larvae, and tall grasses. (Two other tips: 1. turn off the lights around the house because it interferes with their signals 2. avoid lawn chemicals) In the front of our house, we leave leaf litter under the live oaks. In the back, we have tall grasses. Our neighbor’s property has an old watering hole. It was still early in the season when I spotted our lone firefly. I am going to keep my eyes open to see if more fireflies make their way to our pocket prairie this summer. I have my fingers crossed.
Tip: You can learn more about firefly research and conservation at www.firefly.org.
