Where have all the fireflies gone?
By Marie Coyle
@MarieCoyle (48490)
July 31, 2025 11:16pm CST
Kind of reminds me of that song, where have all the flowers gone...but it's about fireflies, of course.
According to what I have read, every state in the US has fireflies, or if you refer to them by another well known name, lightning bugs, except Hawaii. I have enjoyed the fireflies my entire life, they remind me of being outside on summer evenings, watching for the first ones to light up and blink, catching them and putting them in a jar with little holes punched in the top. Sister and I would enjoy and admire them, but Grandma always had us release them before we went inside for the night.
The last few years, it's rather hard to even see fireflies now. Yards and fields that used to light up at dusk with their little sparkles, now have about 2-3 and that's it. I saw more this last week when we went to Southern Illinois, but still not as many as I remember when I used to live there.
Me being me, I had to look it up and read about it, of course. It seems they are becoming more and more scarce in many places now. It's rather sad. It's hard enough to hold on to childhood memories anyway, and the fireflies are a fun memories.
Supposedly they are disappearing due to loss of habitat, chemicals/pollution, and light pollution. Whatever the reason, I hope they don't leave us completely. We need our firefly moments!
Picture from Pinterest
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7 responses
@MarieCoyle (48490)
•
2 Aug
From what I have read, sadly chemicals they use on farm fields have a lot to do with it all. I don't live on a farm of course, but a lot of rural Illinois is farmed.
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@LadyDuck (483534)
• Italy
3 Aug
@MarieCoyle - I need to stay up a little later in the evening. When we go to sleep at 9:30 it's still not dark enough to see them.
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@MarieCoyle (48490)
•
3 Aug
@LadyDuck
That's one problem I never seem to have. It's getting to bed before midnight that is rarely possible around here. Ah, well...we do what we need to do, as you know.
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@MarieCoyle (48490)
•
2 Aug
They like water and damp areas. I bet they are stil there.
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@MarieCoyle (48490)
•
2 Aug
At first, I thought maybe it was just my own area. But it's not, many all over the country say there is a lot less. I celebrate every one I see blinking!
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@1creekgirl (44166)
• United States
2 Aug
We don't seem to have as many lightening bugs now, either. I loved collecting them when I was little.
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@MarieCoyle (48490)
•
3 Aug
I love to sit outside sometimes at night and watch them. But now, I really have to look for them pretty hard!
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@JESSY3236 (21062)
• United States
5 Aug
I loved them too. It's sad that there aren't many anymore.
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@MarieCoyle (48490)
•
6 Aug
They provide a tiny bit of magic in a world that badly needs it...I do hope they make a comeback.
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@LindaOHio (200897)
• United States
1 Aug
I'm still amazed that an insect can produce light.
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@MarieCoyle (48490)
•
2 Aug
Linda, when I was really little, I thought they were magic! 

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@MarieCoyle (48490)
•
3 Aug
@LindaOHio
They really are...I mean, they can literally glow in the dark!
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@Vikingswest1 (7450)
• United States
1 Aug
Growing up in Minnesota and Wisconsin, it was common to see hundreds of fireflies just about everywhere. I have family that still live back there. My last visit home, about ten years ago, there were still quite a few but not the numbers I recall as a kid. I looked it up just now and the internet says there are several different types of fireflies on the Olympic Peninsula. In my 35 years out here, I have yet to see a single one of them. On a camping trip to Idaho, there were plenty there. It was a pretty secluded campsite far away from city lights.
I think as humans expand, they have less of a chance to thrive.
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@MarieCoyle (48490)
•
2 Aug
I think you are right, people are the reason their numbers have gone down.
I have family in Minnesota as well. I enjoy visiting them but haven't been able to for some time now. One family member used to have cabins for rent, and a small home they lived in, in Menahga, MN. That branch of family still owns it, and it's very remote and special up there. So much wildlife, and lots of fireflies.
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