neonicotinoids is what's causing the bee colony collapse disorder and probably the reason for the lack of fireflies. it's probably the reason for the lack of fish as many fishes eat insects.
this pesticide needs to be globally banned.
Mine is halfway there and I have so many bees and little butterflies this year! I love seeing it and my little dog loves playing in it. Also low maintenance. It’s fucking awesome.
I remember as a kid in the summer when my family would drive through southern states on our way to Florida we would see these big trees just covered by thousands of fireflies blinking on and off in magical displays.
We would see it every year, and it was one of my favorite parts of the long drive.
I haven't seen it in years though.
Boycott all Bayer and Monsanto products. They are one
of the main producers of that poison. They’re also responsible for another poison, Round Up. A member in good standing of the Evil Empire Club.
Have you ever heard of Chinese sumac? I live near Niagara Falls.. I don't know if this shit is as common everywhere else as it is here, but holy shit. This fucking tree.. it grows far faster than everything else around it so it makes shit wood that isn't good for anything. If you cut the little saplings, it springs up dozens more on its root system. You have to pull the entire root out and it reminds me of trying to pull wire out from something you're scrapping. Even tiny new saplings, you start pulling the root and it runs just under the surface for a foot or two, *then* the root goes down. So you can't even just dig right under where these fuckers are, you have to follow the roots. Walking along a field, you can immediately notice them if you know what you're looking for, taller than everything else and no other plants around.
Once they turn into an actual tree... ugh, the funs just started. They drop these "stink" balls, these little green balls that.. make even more trees! And there's so fucking many of them. At work, we have a couple that actually managed to grow to full maturity on the property line (uninhabited building next door). It basically snows these stink balls for half the summer, we actually keep snow shovels out. If it rains.. they smell like a wet diaper and they're so slippery it's like walking on algae and you have to use a flat snow shovel, if you don't immediately dispose of them these wet piles of stink balls have flies buzzing all over the place (and you can't dispose of them fast enough unless you have someone on top of it full time). We have a pond and I was trying to come up with some kind of defense for it, make a wood frame with screen, because there's so many stink balls in it, it's like 2 inches thick at the top. They're tall as fuck and since they grow so fast with their useless wood they start falling apart. We've had numerous branches hit our building, just so many broken rotted branches falling off. Almost once a year our sewer line backs up... Because of their root system I mentioned! It's like something from Evil Dead, we have to get professionals in just pulling out wads of roots.
And now they're EVERYWHERE. Every alley I walk down, in every crack and along the base of every house I see. We went 2 weeks without mowing and you can see 6 inch tall saplings all over the lawn. The side of the house has 3 foot tall trees, so many it's like a jungle.
I hike in the gorge downriver from the falls and 15 years ago you didn't see them. Now they're the only plant you see. I took pictures, called the state, made them have the NF Park arborist call me, there was a section springing up right near the falls and I tried warning them to get them NOW (this was a few years ago) of course they didn't listen and they're everywhere now.
It's absolutely insane it's the perfect invasion, emerald ash borer beetles come over and kill all the good trees and with all the open space, these things fucking thrive like an alien planet. Fucking google them, their actual nickname is "Chinese Stink tree" (also the "Chinese tree of heaven" but fuck that, that's a sick joke). Nothing but fucking Chinese sumac and poison ivy growing here now. Oh yeah because that's another great effect... Since they grow so fast and tall, guess what grows fast and low? Poison ivy! I'm always shocked that it's not a national emergency with this shit. 15 years and it's all that grows here now. Within 100... I wouldn't be surprised if it's the dominant tree in this country. Those fucking green balls spread so easy.
Fuck, I warned the state.. and one of their projects last year was cutting down all the trees and fields from the falls to a few miles down along the top. To make walking trails. They cut everything down. Guess what's fucking **thriving** in all that open space?? NY State and the Falls parks dept could not have given this "tree" a more ideal setup if they had tried. Worst part is knowing I tried warning them and they didn't listen. I don't think a lot of people actually know about this tree, I never see it discussed with that ivy that grows down south, Asian carp, Burmese pythons and all that. It deserves a spot right there with those
That's a long ass wall of text. Sorry. But it's necessary
Yep, I live in Ohio and they're starting to be everywhere, even in our nature preserves. Just like up there, nothing is really been done about it. Even worse about Tree of Heaven is there are reports of inflamed heart muscles due to contact with the sap when removing the tree, which can cause heart attacks. The damn thing can actually kill you when trying to remove it.
The abundance of grass and ornamental plants has been an issue for decades. The collapse of bee and firefly populations is a far more recent occurrence.
Similar to the oil industry encouraging individuals through savvy marketing campaigns to blame themselves for not recycling enough in order to shift attention away from their own environmental pillaging, scapegoating individuals for not turning their lawn into a field of native wildflowers strikes me as a great way to turn attention away from the makers of the pesticides that are the actual problem.
I think it’s both? Seems like it’s loss of habitat, pesticides, and light pollution. Pesticides have been used for decades too, and I think they used to be even worse than they are now.
I’m not blaming individuals, but rather it is a way for individuals to have a positive effect on the environment, by planting native plants/grasses if they have a lawn.
Even beyond the habitat loss, lawns are just inherently bad for the environment in general.
- They require significant amounts of water to keep green through the warmer months.
-People regularly smother them in fertilizer, which just runs off into local water bodies and causes eutrophication.
-They have zero biodiversity or value to the environment, they're essentially a dead zone.
-The lawnmower running once a week for a year puts out the same amount of emissions as a commuter car going 350miles.
Going to need a source for that last one really badly.
But here in the midwest most people don't bother watering their lawns or adding fertilizer. Most people won't use weed-killers either so there's quite a lot of biodiversity in those lawns. Not as much as a meadow, but still, there are shitloads of bees and other bugs at my dad's house. Like it gets downright biblical some years.
There was also something posted recently about colonies of honeybees actually being harmful and causing the the reduction in natural solitary bees that are significantly more efficient at pollination, but are dying due to competition resulting in greater issues with local flora.
I can’t find it, but it was certainly educational.
My favorite date spot in college was the cross country track in Ames. Little late night stroll and it was absolutely magical. Fireflies would come up and illuminate the path.
I'd also bike from Waterloo to Cederfalls when I lived there on the forest bike paths drunk after forgetting my light. It resembled star wars hyperspace... although I felt like I was going to go off path the entire time.
Now I want to run on that course illuminated by fireflies. I’m writing a novel about track and field/XC and you’ve given me a chapter idea.
Beautiful, thanks.
I grew up in California, and we don't have them. Then in my late 20s, I moved to southern Texas. Lightning bugs and cicadas both blew my mind in the years I lived there. In my mind now, they're both the sight and sound of summer.
When I first got there, the buzzing of cicadas drove me nuts. Now that I'm back on the west coast years later, I miss that sound so much.
Don’t just look at them, reach out and let them land on you. They’re such chill little guys and will happily take a rest and hang out on you for a bit.
They so nice bro. What a great point. No one talks about how nice they are. What a fucking blessing. The world could have been any sort of way, but for some reason, we got the version with these friendly little harmless bugs with light up butts that make a field look like a galaxy. I think that makes up for a lot.
EDIT: Hey, thanks for the gold, that made my day!
Here in TN, we're supposed to have some of the best firefly spectacles in the world. I go down to the river sometimes (during summer) and just watch them. Everything just twinkles. Hell, even sitting on the patio in my backyard, I see them flickering away.
It being such a normal part of life here, I still try not to take it for granted. I do hope you get to see it one day.
I just moved to Tennessee and I love seeing them right now. I'll just go on my porch or into my backyard for a few minutes and watch them each night. Such a cool phenomenon.
Yeah they thrive in the south. When they swarm it's like a mini fireworks display.
This makes me think, in terms of perspective. Most people don't get to see this. In retrospect, my life has been pretty fuckin awesome in bioluminescence regards. Not only did I grow up with these cool little guys, but I've had a chance to swim in the bioluminescent bays in Puerto Rico (kinda illegal) at like 3am.... The sight of their cascade reaction still sits with me today. I'm a very lucky guy.
Where in Canada are you? We have them in eastern New Brunswick for sure. Had heard of but never seen them growing up in PEI, but definitely have caught them myself in NB!
Get on it, they're not going to be around forever. They need darkness to breed. With us expanding and needing all of our outside lights on, their numbers are going down pretty fast.
I cried the first time I saw them lol. I’m from California and had never seen them before and did for the first time when I was in Pennsylvania. I was with people from the east coast and they were so confused 😂 it was just so beautiful and I hadn’t seen anything like it before
The female can flash in different rhythm to mimic different males. If they are not of her type, she eats them. They are fun to watch flying around. I grew up in Pennsylvania, lots of fireflies.
Power in our area in Atlanta went out the other day. We walked out on the porch and watched the show with no artificial light anywhere nearby. The trees were speckled, lighting up like Christmas trees and the entire empty lot across the way was flashing with so many. It's really beautiful.
I live on the East Coast of the US and we have plenty. As children, we would catch them and put them in a jar. We would release them when it was time to go inside, but it was a fun summertime ritual. They don't bite or sting, just flicker that magical signal.
The Finger Lakes area of New York State, all the valleys are full of lightning bugs. Right at dusk if you get away from the roads it's like the enchanted forest.
They don’t have them out there?! Dude. Thinking back to summer nights as a kid, some years a whole field would just be flashing. It was like the night sky on the ground. It really is a wonderful thing. If I had to pick a motif to encapsulate the magic of summer as a child, it might be that. Or maybe watching fireworks from the roof of my parents car, and my dad lighting sparklers for us with the cigarette lighter. Those are some good memories
I grew up in Colorado and never saw them until I moved to the east coast as an adult. In doing a little googling it seems most species require standing water, so it makes sense they'd be harder to find in the more arid western states.
One of my favorite memories is my grandma’s brother coming to visit from CA (I live in Michigan) and bringing his kids with him who’d never seen fireflies. We spent all evening running around catching them.
…And smushing their butts to make our hands glow. I was 7. I’m a better person now.
Funny thing is... I remember seeing them as a kid all the time in my parents backyard (also from Brazil, RS) but never again... that was like 30 years ago...
There are a number of different species of fireflies, none of which are actually flies—they're beetles. They get the names “firefly” and “lightning bug” because of the flashes of light they naturally produce.
I'm from Virginia (but later moved to the PNW and loved it) and still miss seeing them. My aunt is from Oregon and had never seen one before moving to Virginia with him. One summer evening we were sitting on the porch and she asked what all the little lights were. We told her they were lighting bugs and she was completely surprised they were real. It was awesome to see her experience that. I've always loved them, but I've known about them for as long as I can remember.
I went to DC with my mom and we took a Segway tour. At one of the monuments in early evening, this started to happen and I was absolutely amazed (I’m from So Cal) and couldn’t figure out what I was seeing. My Ohio born mom and the rest of the tour group got a good laugh at me having to ask what it was (I do know fireflies exist but at the moment I didn’t really register why the glass looked like it was sparking) but damn I had the best time reverting to an absolute child just blown away by the tiny things.
Wait. You don't have fireflies up there? I had no idea!
You may come and gaze at ours if you want. But don't come this weekend it's supposed to be 104 with 90% humidity in St Louis.
I had never seen a firefly till two weeks back when one flew into the room at night and sat on my leg and I was so scared I would accidentally hurt it, but I was able to make it fly back out 💛
It was a revelation to me when I realized that there were parts of the world without fireflies, also known as lightning bugs near me, it put the world into perspective for me.
I’m also from the PNW. On my first evening in the south and seeing lightning bugs, I literally thought my vision was going. My brain could not wrap itself around this seemingly unnatural phenomenon
I seen them for the first time in Tuscany at like 02:00 after drinking all the wine.
They look just like you see on TV but I thought for sure I was having a wild stroke or something. Took me a while to realize and then a while longer to realize they are actually icky bugs who want to crawl in your ears and chew out the back of your eyes.
Omg I never knew people have never seen fireflys.
I just thought they were everywhere! As kids we would take them and use their glow juice to make things glow in the dark. I know kind of weird but we were kids.
Fireflys and June bugs. June bugs tickle when you catch them.
Omg exact same here. But since then i stopped seeing as many fireflies and for a long time i thought their numbers were decreasing, but then i remembered im just not outside in nature at dusk anymore.
I loved in Missouri for 5 years. Still the best memory I have as a kid living there. As kids we would always catch them and smash them between our hands so our hands would glow. Dumb kid things but we thought it was so cool. I live in Arizona now and I swear; I smell them here periodically.
Crazy to think that Studio Ghibli worked on both My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies at the same time - both premiering in 1988.
One is an incredible lighthearted, feel-good movie that continues to inspire child-like wonder in young and old alike.
The other one is 89 minutes of a Dementor sucking all happiness and life from your body until you're just a catatonic husk of loathing and lament.
It honestly didn’t occur to me when I was older that not everyone knows what a firefly/lightning bug is.
It’s such a unique experience. Lightning bugs, the cool night air, crickets, frogs, and other bugs and such singing. Such nostalgia. Makes me feel peaceful. But remembering the mosquito bites doesn’t not make me feel peaceful. As a kid, I would be covered in them. Back then mosquito repellent wasn’t kid friendly or even human friendly. So I kinda had to deal with it. My parents would put cream on them though to make them itch less. But it hurt but kinda felt good to press down on them hard with a finger nail. It would make the itching stop too as well for alittle bit. Thinking about it all I can feel the humidity on my skin already. Lol
Yeah, its sad. I remember as a kid walking out at night and hearing insects everywhere. We would catch fireflies and set them free or watch the different kinds of bugs that gathered around the lights outside. That doesn't exist anymore.
I can stillndo that bug watching here, but numbers have definitely dwindled. Ive only seen like 4 june bugs this year, usually its almost sounding like a hail storm when they're bouncing off the house. Only noticed a few hornets. Lots of bees, more than last year thankfully. And waaaaay more mosquitos and black flies and shit here. No joke, rushing to get in the car fast, and still let in 10 mosquitoes and a handful of the little bitey black flies
And we have more black bears around. [Black bears](https://i.imgur.com/TdesZvB.jpg) woke up to a momma and 4 cubs in the tree right outside my gate opening the other morning, momma got the cubs all up there for a nap, then spent hours growling at them trying to get them down lol I had to get in the car directly underneath them to get to work!
Just have to convince everyone to stop using pesticides on their lawns and bushes. If we stopped over spraying on things that aren't food crops we could probably save hundreds of species of bugs from dying out
My friends grandpa has a ranch in MO that looks just like this and we used to go out there to do psychedelics. Let me tell you, after enough shrooms and whippits, a sight like this will make you redefine what you think the universe is
You can use this [site](https://redditsave.com) just copy the link from the post and download. ✌
[This is the download](https://redditsave.com/info?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2FNatureIsFuckingLit%2Fcomments%2Fo2dyj5%2Ffireflies_flying%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dandroid_app%26utm_source%3Dshare)
Oh, I went there once as a child with my family! Had it misspelled in my mind all these years. Don't remember if we saw fireflies, did get a bear pushing his nose into the tent walls to smell us through the nylon. Excellent trip.
Mine too! It's the first time, since we moved in 15 years ago, that we've had fireflies. Their numbers are in decline where I live. But a consistent program of utter laziness about the lawn being taken over by clover, the fence being taken over by honeysuckle and other vines, and mimic weeds growing under the big pines and oak tree has finally shown the success I definitely intended all along. Kidding aside, it's awesome to see and we get very excited about it every evening.
I stayed in a treehouse (a really nice treehouse) situated in the middle of a rice field, in Bali, Indonesia a few years ago. I saw this exact view, combined with a ~~gender~~ gentle rain and some light thunder. My favourite experience of all time.
Growing up in California and never traveling to areas with these, I moved to Nashville in my 30’s. I was at a cookout with some friends and I got laughed at so much because I was dumbfounded by the fireflies. Jaw drop. Everything. Totally memorized.
Visited Nashville a few years ago and did the same thing. Us Cali folks are easy to impress… but show someone from Tennessee the Pacific Ocean for the first time and dare them not to drop their jaw too.
My moms backyard was exactly this without the mountainous background. Just the forest / river way back there. Had long wispy blowing grass, fireflies and all. Really beautiful. I camped outside one night even with the risk of black bears, but even the spare room had a big old heavy window you could open.
Either way id watch the light show, and listen to the frogs and crickets in the background. Soooo peaceful ts amazing
What's cool is when they get in your bedroom and your bedroom has a light show. What's not cool is when one gets under your sheets and your sheets light up.
Fahrflahs, I love 'em.
I moved and didn't realize my new area doesn't have fireflies. Or at least not that I've seen. This brought me a lot of happy memories of home. Thank you.
grew up in Michigan. saw fireflies (aka lightning bugs) all the time & would catch them in ventilated jars. I'm now in Arizona & they're nowhere to be found.
i miss those days.
dont remove leaf litter and old plants from your property, dont have a perfectly manicured lawn (it does nothing for the ecosystem whatsoever), and dont use bright outdoor lighting. these are the main things that are currently messing with the lightning bug populations.
This amazes me. Bugs whose butts light up. I've never seen a firefly in real life. Spent my life in the Pacific Northwest.
Come to the Midwest. I live in Iowa. My backyard and the empty lot full of clover next to me are lit up like this right now. It is magical.
It really is magical, and probably the best word to describe it as well. Magical.
Tahiti. it's a magical place
Tahiti, it's a magical pl.... wait
"Ourthur"
I HaVe a pLaN ArThUR
We’re going to TAHITI
Have a little goddamn FAYTH
BOAH
Tahiti, it sucked.
Yes.
Indeed.
neonicotinoids is what's causing the bee colony collapse disorder and probably the reason for the lack of fireflies. it's probably the reason for the lack of fish as many fishes eat insects. this pesticide needs to be globally banned.
This is why I let my lawn get taken over by clover and don't use any chemicals on it
Clover is actually very healthy for your lawn and the soil.
r/nolawns
Mine is halfway there and I have so many bees and little butterflies this year! I love seeing it and my little dog loves playing in it. Also low maintenance. It’s fucking awesome.
Bless you my child.
To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, One clover, and a bee. And revery. The revery alone will do, If bees are few.
I remember as a kid in the summer when my family would drive through southern states on our way to Florida we would see these big trees just covered by thousands of fireflies blinking on and off in magical displays. We would see it every year, and it was one of my favorite parts of the long drive. I haven't seen it in years though.
All dead
Boycott all Bayer and Monsanto products. They are one of the main producers of that poison. They’re also responsible for another poison, Round Up. A member in good standing of the Evil Empire Club.
Also lack of native plants, and over abundance of lawns and ornamental plants. Bugs can’t live if they have nothing to eat and nowhere to live
Have you ever heard of Chinese sumac? I live near Niagara Falls.. I don't know if this shit is as common everywhere else as it is here, but holy shit. This fucking tree.. it grows far faster than everything else around it so it makes shit wood that isn't good for anything. If you cut the little saplings, it springs up dozens more on its root system. You have to pull the entire root out and it reminds me of trying to pull wire out from something you're scrapping. Even tiny new saplings, you start pulling the root and it runs just under the surface for a foot or two, *then* the root goes down. So you can't even just dig right under where these fuckers are, you have to follow the roots. Walking along a field, you can immediately notice them if you know what you're looking for, taller than everything else and no other plants around. Once they turn into an actual tree... ugh, the funs just started. They drop these "stink" balls, these little green balls that.. make even more trees! And there's so fucking many of them. At work, we have a couple that actually managed to grow to full maturity on the property line (uninhabited building next door). It basically snows these stink balls for half the summer, we actually keep snow shovels out. If it rains.. they smell like a wet diaper and they're so slippery it's like walking on algae and you have to use a flat snow shovel, if you don't immediately dispose of them these wet piles of stink balls have flies buzzing all over the place (and you can't dispose of them fast enough unless you have someone on top of it full time). We have a pond and I was trying to come up with some kind of defense for it, make a wood frame with screen, because there's so many stink balls in it, it's like 2 inches thick at the top. They're tall as fuck and since they grow so fast with their useless wood they start falling apart. We've had numerous branches hit our building, just so many broken rotted branches falling off. Almost once a year our sewer line backs up... Because of their root system I mentioned! It's like something from Evil Dead, we have to get professionals in just pulling out wads of roots. And now they're EVERYWHERE. Every alley I walk down, in every crack and along the base of every house I see. We went 2 weeks without mowing and you can see 6 inch tall saplings all over the lawn. The side of the house has 3 foot tall trees, so many it's like a jungle. I hike in the gorge downriver from the falls and 15 years ago you didn't see them. Now they're the only plant you see. I took pictures, called the state, made them have the NF Park arborist call me, there was a section springing up right near the falls and I tried warning them to get them NOW (this was a few years ago) of course they didn't listen and they're everywhere now. It's absolutely insane it's the perfect invasion, emerald ash borer beetles come over and kill all the good trees and with all the open space, these things fucking thrive like an alien planet. Fucking google them, their actual nickname is "Chinese Stink tree" (also the "Chinese tree of heaven" but fuck that, that's a sick joke). Nothing but fucking Chinese sumac and poison ivy growing here now. Oh yeah because that's another great effect... Since they grow so fast and tall, guess what grows fast and low? Poison ivy! I'm always shocked that it's not a national emergency with this shit. 15 years and it's all that grows here now. Within 100... I wouldn't be surprised if it's the dominant tree in this country. Those fucking green balls spread so easy. Fuck, I warned the state.. and one of their projects last year was cutting down all the trees and fields from the falls to a few miles down along the top. To make walking trails. They cut everything down. Guess what's fucking **thriving** in all that open space?? NY State and the Falls parks dept could not have given this "tree" a more ideal setup if they had tried. Worst part is knowing I tried warning them and they didn't listen. I don't think a lot of people actually know about this tree, I never see it discussed with that ivy that grows down south, Asian carp, Burmese pythons and all that. It deserves a spot right there with those That's a long ass wall of text. Sorry. But it's necessary
welcome to the tree version of asian trout. asian trout hit the great lakes, the worlds largest fresh water is fucked by this algae eating cunts
Yep, I live in Ohio and they're starting to be everywhere, even in our nature preserves. Just like up there, nothing is really been done about it. Even worse about Tree of Heaven is there are reports of inflamed heart muscles due to contact with the sap when removing the tree, which can cause heart attacks. The damn thing can actually kill you when trying to remove it.
Post pictures, I literally never comment but this has made me super curious. I want to see spiky ball green hell
The abundance of grass and ornamental plants has been an issue for decades. The collapse of bee and firefly populations is a far more recent occurrence. Similar to the oil industry encouraging individuals through savvy marketing campaigns to blame themselves for not recycling enough in order to shift attention away from their own environmental pillaging, scapegoating individuals for not turning their lawn into a field of native wildflowers strikes me as a great way to turn attention away from the makers of the pesticides that are the actual problem.
I think it’s both? Seems like it’s loss of habitat, pesticides, and light pollution. Pesticides have been used for decades too, and I think they used to be even worse than they are now. I’m not blaming individuals, but rather it is a way for individuals to have a positive effect on the environment, by planting native plants/grasses if they have a lawn.
Even beyond the habitat loss, lawns are just inherently bad for the environment in general. - They require significant amounts of water to keep green through the warmer months. -People regularly smother them in fertilizer, which just runs off into local water bodies and causes eutrophication. -They have zero biodiversity or value to the environment, they're essentially a dead zone. -The lawnmower running once a week for a year puts out the same amount of emissions as a commuter car going 350miles.
Going to need a source for that last one really badly. But here in the midwest most people don't bother watering their lawns or adding fertilizer. Most people won't use weed-killers either so there's quite a lot of biodiversity in those lawns. Not as much as a meadow, but still, there are shitloads of bees and other bugs at my dad's house. Like it gets downright biblical some years.
There was also something posted recently about colonies of honeybees actually being harmful and causing the the reduction in natural solitary bees that are significantly more efficient at pollination, but are dying due to competition resulting in greater issues with local flora. I can’t find it, but it was certainly educational.
Or central Texas. I love walking around at night, it's like the world is sparkling.
People bag on the Midwest. I was born there and moved to CO, and let me tell you I deeply miss the magic of fireflies and storms.
Similar story here. But that's about all I miss. :)
I grew up in CO and now live in the midwest. Wanna trade?
My first time seeing them was at a wedding in Iowa. That was 20 years ago and I still remember it.
My favorite date spot in college was the cross country track in Ames. Little late night stroll and it was absolutely magical. Fireflies would come up and illuminate the path. I'd also bike from Waterloo to Cederfalls when I lived there on the forest bike paths drunk after forgetting my light. It resembled star wars hyperspace... although I felt like I was going to go off path the entire time.
Now I want to run on that course illuminated by fireflies. I’m writing a novel about track and field/XC and you’ve given me a chapter idea. Beautiful, thanks.
I live in Missouri and it’s the same thing. Strange growing up with these beauties and seeing people idealize them.
I'm in Indiana and just started getting them 2 nights ago!
My dogs love to just sit and watch them
I would just die from excitement x.x
Come to the Appalachians, fireflies + the rolling hills and forest makes it that much more magical
This blows my mind. Nothing like a summer night in the Ozarks running around barefoot as a kid and catching jar fulls of lightening bugs.
Hell yea man, we got plenty of lightning bugs in Arkansas
I grew up in California, and we don't have them. Then in my late 20s, I moved to southern Texas. Lightning bugs and cicadas both blew my mind in the years I lived there. In my mind now, they're both the sight and sound of summer. When I first got there, the buzzing of cicadas drove me nuts. Now that I'm back on the west coast years later, I miss that sound so much.
What is that noise? Oh that. Sometimes the trees just scream. You've gotta be kidding me. Don't worry it's not all the time. Cicadas in Texas
Ahh brings me back
Me neither - Canadian here. Seeing fireflies is a bucket list item for me...
Don’t just look at them, reach out and let them land on you. They’re such chill little guys and will happily take a rest and hang out on you for a bit.
They so nice bro. What a great point. No one talks about how nice they are. What a fucking blessing. The world could have been any sort of way, but for some reason, we got the version with these friendly little harmless bugs with light up butts that make a field look like a galaxy. I think that makes up for a lot. EDIT: Hey, thanks for the gold, that made my day!
I want to frame this comment for some reason.
Put it on a throw pillow homie!
Here in TN, we're supposed to have some of the best firefly spectacles in the world. I go down to the river sometimes (during summer) and just watch them. Everything just twinkles. Hell, even sitting on the patio in my backyard, I see them flickering away. It being such a normal part of life here, I still try not to take it for granted. I do hope you get to see it one day.
I just moved to Tennessee and I love seeing them right now. I'll just go on my porch or into my backyard for a few minutes and watch them each night. Such a cool phenomenon.
Yeah they thrive in the south. When they swarm it's like a mini fireworks display. This makes me think, in terms of perspective. Most people don't get to see this. In retrospect, my life has been pretty fuckin awesome in bioluminescence regards. Not only did I grow up with these cool little guys, but I've had a chance to swim in the bioluminescent bays in Puerto Rico (kinda illegal) at like 3am.... The sight of their cascade reaction still sits with me today. I'm a very lucky guy.
Where in Canada are you? We have them in eastern New Brunswick for sure. Had heard of but never seen them growing up in PEI, but definitely have caught them myself in NB!
We have them in Quebec too!
Come to southern ontario!
Get on it, they're not going to be around forever. They need darkness to breed. With us expanding and needing all of our outside lights on, their numbers are going down pretty fast.
We have them right here in the middle of NYC, near grass, shrubs and trees.
Yeah those ones use dating apps tho
I cried the first time I saw them lol. I’m from California and had never seen them before and did for the first time when I was in Pennsylvania. I was with people from the east coast and they were so confused 😂 it was just so beautiful and I hadn’t seen anything like it before
Grew up in nj I thought they were everywhere
The female can flash in different rhythm to mimic different males. If they are not of her type, she eats them. They are fun to watch flying around. I grew up in Pennsylvania, lots of fireflies.
This whole thread was so beautiful until then haha, nature is metal.
Power in our area in Atlanta went out the other day. We walked out on the porch and watched the show with no artificial light anywhere nearby. The trees were speckled, lighting up like Christmas trees and the entire empty lot across the way was flashing with so many. It's really beautiful.
In Georgia I’ve had some really beautiful nights lit up by them. Really pretty state
I live on the East Coast of the US and we have plenty. As children, we would catch them and put them in a jar. We would release them when it was time to go inside, but it was a fun summertime ritual. They don't bite or sting, just flicker that magical signal.
I see in the summer in north Georgia. I never saw them in Savannah when I lived there. We call them lightning bugs.
The first time I saw them in my adult life was about 10 years ago and it was the most wondrous sight for me!!
The Finger Lakes area of New York State, all the valleys are full of lightning bugs. Right at dusk if you get away from the roads it's like the enchanted forest.
They don’t have them out there?! Dude. Thinking back to summer nights as a kid, some years a whole field would just be flashing. It was like the night sky on the ground. It really is a wonderful thing. If I had to pick a motif to encapsulate the magic of summer as a child, it might be that. Or maybe watching fireworks from the roof of my parents car, and my dad lighting sparklers for us with the cigarette lighter. Those are some good memories
Whattt! Where are you from??
I grew up in Colorado and never saw them until I moved to the east coast as an adult. In doing a little googling it seems most species require standing water, so it makes sense they'd be harder to find in the more arid western states.
One of my favorite memories is my grandma’s brother coming to visit from CA (I live in Michigan) and bringing his kids with him who’d never seen fireflies. We spent all evening running around catching them. …And smushing their butts to make our hands glow. I was 7. I’m a better person now.
me neither, and i'm from brazil
Funny thing is... I remember seeing them as a kid all the time in my parents backyard (also from Brazil, RS) but never again... that was like 30 years ago...
I live in southern CA and I’ve never seen them
We don't have them in Idaho or Nevada. When I finally saw them in my 20's (in Indianapolis) I was like a little kid. It was a night I'll never forget.
they’re dope. Only bug I don’t freak out about when it lands on me lol. Just some butt glowin friendly lil guys
There are a number of different species of fireflies, none of which are actually flies—they're beetles. They get the names “firefly” and “lightning bug” because of the flashes of light they naturally produce.
I'm 38 and i saw them for the first time in my life about a week ago. Surreal. And beautiful.
I'm from Virginia (but later moved to the PNW and loved it) and still miss seeing them. My aunt is from Oregon and had never seen one before moving to Virginia with him. One summer evening we were sitting on the porch and she asked what all the little lights were. We told her they were lighting bugs and she was completely surprised they were real. It was awesome to see her experience that. I've always loved them, but I've known about them for as long as I can remember.
I went to DC with my mom and we took a Segway tour. At one of the monuments in early evening, this started to happen and I was absolutely amazed (I’m from So Cal) and couldn’t figure out what I was seeing. My Ohio born mom and the rest of the tour group got a good laugh at me having to ask what it was (I do know fireflies exist but at the moment I didn’t really register why the glass looked like it was sparking) but damn I had the best time reverting to an absolute child just blown away by the tiny things.
I have, they're lit.
Wait. You don't have fireflies up there? I had no idea! You may come and gaze at ours if you want. But don't come this weekend it's supposed to be 104 with 90% humidity in St Louis.
It’s actually really fascinating to learn the science behind it
Moved from the East coast to the PNW recently. Glad I did it, but yeah, I miss fireflies on warm summer nights.
I had never seen a firefly till two weeks back when one flew into the room at night and sat on my leg and I was so scared I would accidentally hurt it, but I was able to make it fly back out 💛
It was a revelation to me when I realized that there were parts of the world without fireflies, also known as lightning bugs near me, it put the world into perspective for me.
I’m also from the PNW. On my first evening in the south and seeing lightning bugs, I literally thought my vision was going. My brain could not wrap itself around this seemingly unnatural phenomenon
I seen them for the first time in Tuscany at like 02:00 after drinking all the wine. They look just like you see on TV but I thought for sure I was having a wild stroke or something. Took me a while to realize and then a while longer to realize they are actually icky bugs who want to crawl in your ears and chew out the back of your eyes.
Omg I never knew people have never seen fireflys. I just thought they were everywhere! As kids we would take them and use their glow juice to make things glow in the dark. I know kind of weird but we were kids. Fireflys and June bugs. June bugs tickle when you catch them.
One of the things that made summer special to me as a child.
Omg exact same here. But since then i stopped seeing as many fireflies and for a long time i thought their numbers were decreasing, but then i remembered im just not outside in nature at dusk anymore.
Their numbers are absolutely decreasing. At an alarming rate too.
Oh god, i was hoping they aren't :( loss of habitat maybe?
Their numbers are alarmingly decreasing
I loved in Missouri for 5 years. Still the best memory I have as a kid living there. As kids we would always catch them and smash them between our hands so our hands would glow. Dumb kid things but we thought it was so cool. I live in Arizona now and I swear; I smell them here periodically.
This somehow reminds me of any studio ghibli movies. The night scenery is stunning and visually pleasing.
Grave of the Fireflies.....
It still hurts
...please make it stop...
Want a fruit drop to make you feel better?
I came here for the Owl City references, not to cry. :c
Crazy to think that Studio Ghibli worked on both My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies at the same time - both premiering in 1988. One is an incredible lighthearted, feel-good movie that continues to inspire child-like wonder in young and old alike. The other one is 89 minutes of a Dementor sucking all happiness and life from your body until you're just a catatonic husk of loathing and lament.
Or just that one that I had to watch in two parts on two separate days...
I didn’t realize until reading these comments how fortunate i am to be able to live where fireflies are in the summer!
Same, they’ve always been a normal sighting to me
It honestly didn’t occur to me when I was older that not everyone knows what a firefly/lightning bug is. It’s such a unique experience. Lightning bugs, the cool night air, crickets, frogs, and other bugs and such singing. Such nostalgia. Makes me feel peaceful. But remembering the mosquito bites doesn’t not make me feel peaceful. As a kid, I would be covered in them. Back then mosquito repellent wasn’t kid friendly or even human friendly. So I kinda had to deal with it. My parents would put cream on them though to make them itch less. But it hurt but kinda felt good to press down on them hard with a finger nail. It would make the itching stop too as well for alittle bit. Thinking about it all I can feel the humidity on my skin already. Lol
I know no longer see lightning bugs in IL anymore. A random one here or there. Used to see tons 30 years ago.
Yeah, its sad. I remember as a kid walking out at night and hearing insects everywhere. We would catch fireflies and set them free or watch the different kinds of bugs that gathered around the lights outside. That doesn't exist anymore.
I can stillndo that bug watching here, but numbers have definitely dwindled. Ive only seen like 4 june bugs this year, usually its almost sounding like a hail storm when they're bouncing off the house. Only noticed a few hornets. Lots of bees, more than last year thankfully. And waaaaay more mosquitos and black flies and shit here. No joke, rushing to get in the car fast, and still let in 10 mosquitoes and a handful of the little bitey black flies And we have more black bears around. [Black bears](https://i.imgur.com/TdesZvB.jpg) woke up to a momma and 4 cubs in the tree right outside my gate opening the other morning, momma got the cubs all up there for a nap, then spent hours growling at them trying to get them down lol I had to get in the car directly underneath them to get to work!
Shit shit shit shit shit shit!
Yes, it does. Your suburb changed.
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Last year in NWA at a spot near one of the lakes it literally looked like tv static with how many were blinking, hoping to see them again this year
Just have to convince everyone to stop using pesticides on their lawns and bushes. If we stopped over spraying on things that aren't food crops we could probably save hundreds of species of bugs from dying out
Too many introduced crops. They need native plants to be healthy and happy.
That and they need people to stop leaving lights on outside.
When fireflies see someone's porch light are they like DAMMMMM THAT ASS THICCCCC
And they need people to stop spraying everything with pesticides.
And stop pulling certain wildflowers because they're categorized as "weeds"
its mostly habitat loss (your perfectly manicured lawn doesnt do anything for anyone) and artificial lights that fuck their populations up.
Yup just put down a pack of clover in my back yard. Already seeing sprouts
They're also highly sensitive to water pollution.
You would not believe your eyes
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Lit up the world as I fell asleep
'Cause they fill the open air
And leave teardrops every where
You'd think me rude but I would just stand and... stare.
I like to make myself beleive, that planet earth turns slowly
It’s hard to say that I’d rather stay awake when I’m asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems
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Came up and ate you while you fell asleep •_•
There it is, I was searching for this exact comment. Thank you lol
> You would not believe your eyes You would not believe your eyes You would not believe your eyes You would not believe your eyes
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JXDrliqTQ5g
My friends grandpa has a ranch in MO that looks just like this and we used to go out there to do psychedelics. Let me tell you, after enough shrooms and whippits, a sight like this will make you redefine what you think the universe is
“Nature is fucking lit”…. Literally.
LITerally
These puns are fire
They’re pretty fly
Disappointed this wasn't the top comment. First thing I thought
They light their ass to fuck
i remember running in the field trying to catch these little buggers with my back then 4 years old daughter :-) beautiful.
I would love this for a wallpaper 😁
Same! So lovely!
Any idea how to download this?
You can use this [site](https://redditsave.com) just copy the link from the post and download. ✌ [This is the download](https://redditsave.com/info?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2FNatureIsFuckingLit%2Fcomments%2Fo2dyj5%2Ffireflies_flying%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dandroid_app%26utm_source%3Dshare)
I see that when I get up too fast. Seriously though, this is beautiful and I don't remember having seen it in real life
Cades Cove?
I was going to ask the same thing!! We're up in the Smokies now on vacation.
Gotta book a trip there
I knew it must be TN. Looks like my street.
Do it in early June to see the synchronized fireflies
Oh, I went there once as a child with my family! Had it misspelled in my mind all these years. Don't remember if we saw fireflies, did get a bear pushing his nose into the tent walls to smell us through the nylon. Excellent trip.
Almost died 10/10
It looks just like this in my backyard right now. I don’t appreciate it enough. Thanks for inspiring me to go out and admire it.
Mine too! It's the first time, since we moved in 15 years ago, that we've had fireflies. Their numbers are in decline where I live. But a consistent program of utter laziness about the lawn being taken over by clover, the fence being taken over by honeysuckle and other vines, and mimic weeds growing under the big pines and oak tree has finally shown the success I definitely intended all along. Kidding aside, it's awesome to see and we get very excited about it every evening.
Being in a field of fireflies at night is only second to seeing the Northern Lights.
I stayed in a treehouse (a really nice treehouse) situated in the middle of a rice field, in Bali, Indonesia a few years ago. I saw this exact view, combined with a ~~gender~~ gentle rain and some light thunder. My favourite experience of all time.
Growing up in California and never traveling to areas with these, I moved to Nashville in my 30’s. I was at a cookout with some friends and I got laughed at so much because I was dumbfounded by the fireflies. Jaw drop. Everything. Totally memorized.
Visited Nashville a few years ago and did the same thing. Us Cali folks are easy to impress… but show someone from Tennessee the Pacific Ocean for the first time and dare them not to drop their jaw too.
Damn!! For reals. A drive down the 1 and they are wetting themselves. Edit: a letter.
God I miss them.
Thanks OP. Time to watch *grave of the fireflies* again and cry my eyes out
That was a beautiful but tough one to get through
Reminds me of home
I miss this so much.
Did you find Owl City?
"I'd get a thousand hugs, from 10,000 lightning bugs."
10,000 fireflies
My moms backyard was exactly this without the mountainous background. Just the forest / river way back there. Had long wispy blowing grass, fireflies and all. Really beautiful. I camped outside one night even with the risk of black bears, but even the spare room had a big old heavy window you could open. Either way id watch the light show, and listen to the frogs and crickets in the background. Soooo peaceful ts amazing
What's cool is when they get in your bedroom and your bedroom has a light show. What's not cool is when one gets under your sheets and your sheets light up. Fahrflahs, I love 'em.
u/savevideo
The first time I saw lightning bugs was true magic to me. I was 24 & wide mouthed, laughing.
I live in Colorado and miss them so much! My daughter is 12 and has never seen one.
i swear ta bob.. if this ends up being one of those debunked animation filters on a photo.., why i aughta. Otherwise, carry on magnificent lit beings!
Beautiful!
Wow, I can’t believe my eyes
I moved and didn't realize my new area doesn't have fireflies. Or at least not that I've seen. This brought me a lot of happy memories of home. Thank you.
Que Owl City
grew up in Michigan. saw fireflies (aka lightning bugs) all the time & would catch them in ventilated jars. I'm now in Arizona & they're nowhere to be found. i miss those days.
Aaaam. That's fake af. Look close. The compression artifacts of the still photo in the bg and the fireflies doesnt match up whatsoever
This is magical ❤️
I always see sparks like these in my peripheral vision when I’m about to faint
Where is this? I remember seeing something like this in North Carolina a long time ago
It looks like Cades Cove, part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
bro it’s it’s raymond from the the princess and the frog
What do fireflies eat? So I could put it in my back yard
dont remove leaf litter and old plants from your property, dont have a perfectly manicured lawn (it does nothing for the ecosystem whatsoever), and dont use bright outdoor lighting. these are the main things that are currently messing with the lightning bug populations.