Lightning Bugs

BlueBee · July 22, 2014, 06:41:54 AM

Are fire flies moving north with global warming?

As a kid we never had any around here, now they're everywhere.

Just wondering what other people have observed?

kingd · July 22, 2014, 10:17:52 AM

I remember seeing them as a kid but never in the amounts or as early as I do now.

iddee · July 22, 2014, 12:11:40 PM

My kids caught them in the early 70's in western Illinois.

jayj200 · July 22, 2014, 12:17:01 PM

I cought them in Iowa as a kid

nella · July 22, 2014, 12:29:42 PM

I have been on my farm for the last seventy yrs., as a child there were a lot of lighting bugs and in the late 50ies early 60ies they disappeared untill about 6 years ago they started to appear again and are as plenty full as when I was a child.

BeeMaster2 · July 22, 2014, 01:15:07 PM

I saw them growing up in PA from the 50's to the 80"s. I am told they hardly ever see them there any more.
Jim

Better.to.Bee.than.not · July 22, 2014, 04:32:44 PM

The earth runs on cycles and everything on it does also pretty much. When I was a kid we had lots of them, then they disappeared and now they are back here also. We had a cabin up north on lake erie when I was a kid, and they were there no problem. we of course did the whole catching them in jars things constantly.

BeeMaster2 · July 22, 2014, 10:01:50 PM

Quote from: Better.to.Bee.than.not on July 22, 2014, 04:32:44 PM
The earth runs on cycles and everything on it does also pretty much. When I was a kid we had lots of them, then they disappeared and now they are back here also. We had a cabin up north on lake Erie when I was a kid, and they were there no problem. we of course did the whole catching them in jars things constantly.

We were on vacation, last month, in the Smokey Mountains. They have warnings in the park now that it is illegal to collect lightning bugs. There are thousands and thousands up there and the kids cannot do what we did for years.
Jim

hjon71 · July 23, 2014, 04:15:55 AM

Quote

We were on vacation, last month, in the Smokey Mountains. They have warnings in the park now that it is illegal to collect lightning bugs. There are thousands and thousands up there and the kids cannot do what we did for years.
Jim

It's only illegal if you get caught ;)

Seriously, ever hear of Civil Disobedience? Good lesson for the kids right there.

msgoldielocks · July 23, 2014, 10:33:21 AM

Quote from: sawdstmakr on July 22, 2014, 10:01:50 PM
Quote from: Better.to.Bee.than.not on July 22, 2014, 04:32:44 PMThe earth runs on cycles and everything on it does also pretty much. When I was a kid we had lots of them, then they disappeared and now they are back here also. We had a cabin up north on lake Erie when I was a kid, and they were there no problem. we of course did the whole catching them in jars things constantly.

We were on vacation, last month, in the Smokey Mountains. They have warnings in the park now that it is illegal to collect lightning bugs. There are thousands and thousands up there and the kids cannot do what we did for years.
Jim

It's illegal to pick plants or bother any wildlife in the national park. Not so in your backyard :)

I moved to lower Alabama about 5 years ago and there weren't any fireflies, last year we saw a few and this year a few more.

itsme · July 25, 2014, 08:46:19 AM

Part of my childhood was spent just east of Ypsilanti, Michigan. We had a LOT of lightening bugs then. Used to catch them in jars, make rings, etc. They do seem to come and go, wax and wane. I guess most things do. Some years I see more of them here in Missouri than other years.

Michael Bush · July 25, 2014, 10:49:59 PM

You must not be paying attention to the weather. It's global cooling...

http://www.tpnn.com/2014/03/17/weather-channel-founder-explains-the-history-of-the-global-warming-hoax/

BlueBee · July 26, 2014, 04:27:34 AM

ha ha. :laugh:

We did have a BRUTAL winter this year. Actually set new cold and snow records here. However it sure didn't phase the fire flies. The fire flies are almost as abundant as the mosquitoes.

It's interesting that so many people have reported dramatic changes in the populations of the fire flies.

kingd · July 26, 2014, 11:02:25 AM

I was hoping that last winter was going to put a dent in the mosquito population.
Nope it didn't. :-\

BeeMaster2 · July 26, 2014, 06:47:55 PM

Quote from: kingd on July 26, 2014, 11:02:25 AM
I was hoping that last winter was going to put a dent in the mosquito population.
Nope it didn't. :-\

Why would you expect a cold winter to get rid of them? Alaska has mosquito's so bad that the caribou loose a couple of quarts of blood a day to these pests. This in the land where soil never fully defrosts.
Jim

BlueBee · July 27, 2014, 02:38:55 AM

Because it was colder in Michigan last winter than it was in Alaska.

I was sitting in the the kitchen this evening and had two lightening bugs crawling up my legs. They are everywhere! Glad they don't bite.

jayj200 · July 27, 2014, 09:30:20 AM

Glorified Love bugs

Dallasbeek · October 05, 2014, 01:21:31 AM

Reviving this thread : I've joked for years that we have one or two neighborhood fireflies in my area of Dallas. We see one in our yard and it flats to our neighbor's yard, and so on. Recall them thick as could be in South Texas when I was a child. Good to hear they're returning in some areas. Global warming must not be all bad.

jayj200 · January 03, 2015, 04:57:20 PM

Now we got love bugs here driving is dangerous

Dallasbeek · January 16, 2015, 06:14:56 PM

Be glad you don't ride a motorcycle, Jay. A mouthful of those critters? Whoooee.