Fireflies?
When I was a kid in deep suburban New Jersey, there were summer nights where the front yard shimmered and glowed and shifted with thousands of moats of light created by fireflies! It was pure magic!
I haven’t seen such a spectacle since the 1980s. Where have they gone? I’ve read reports that firefly populations are way down.
My question to you: have you seen fireflies in the past few years? Where?
I got some replies on Facebook that give me heart
Jeremy W writes:
Yes! Occationally. In my parent’s verdant garden in Princeton, NJ. On a street near where I live here in Mass. At the bottom of the playing fields behind the elementary school. In a forest by the coast up in Rockport, MA. They are rarer, but they’re still around in Mass. and NJ.
Where fields meet trees is a good place to look
Jessica H writes:
In upstate NY near the Berkshires! I saw wonderful swarms just a few summers ago.
Sherri K writes:
Now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a firefly here in Northern CA.
Sarahjane B writes:
They’re not out west. First time I saw them was visiting Schuyler’s family in Arkansas.
Carol C writes:
I have them in my back yard.
I reply:
Thank you beautiful people! Hearing this gives me some measure of hope for the world!