#lightning bugs

[hans-echo]

"We might be witnessing the twilight of fireflies—one of the last generations to drift through the summer dark like living embers. But this isn't nature’s doing. It’s ours.

Fireflies are vanishing fast. Across North America, over 130 species are now at risk. Rare ones like the amber comet firefly are hanging by a thread in just a few patches of Texas. It’s not just one threat—it’s a perfect storm. Expanding cities pave over forests and wetlands. Backyard floodlights blind their courtship signals. Pesticides poison the soil they breed in. And climate change scrambles their life cycles with heatwaves and droughts.

The amber comet, once thought extinct since the 1940s, was rediscovered recently—but only in scattered wet grasslands. It flashes like a slow-motion meteor across the night. A signal in the dark. A warning.

Fireflies are more than nostalgia. They’re indicators—when they disappear, it’s a red flag for the whole ecosystem. Their larvae eat snails and pests. They need moist soil, native plants, dark skies. When their world collapses, it’s a sign that frogs, birds, and bees are next.

But the spark isn’t gone yet.

There’s still time to reverse this. Cut the glare—use less outdoor light, install motion sensors, choose warmer bulbs. Skip the pesticides and let your yard go wild. Build patches of native plants, damp soil, and leafy undergrowth. Protect the shadows. Let nature breathe.

Join a citizen science group. Count fireflies. Map their glow. You’ll be doing more than watching insects—you’ll be protecting an ancient conversation between light and night.

Or we can keep doing what we’re doing. Keep building. Keep spraying. Keep lighting up the night until it goes quiet.

And fireflies become just another story we tell around the campfire."

- The Brain Maze

[gummi-stims]

💡🪰Catching Fireflies🪰💡

From glitter.slimesofficial's summer camp collection!

[childlost1313]

Remember the mid-west and I'd see hundreds of them at night ~

Lo sapevi? Le lucciole in realtà non sono mosche: sono coleotteri!

E tra tutti gli insetti del mondo, sono tra i pochi a parlare con la luce.

Ogni lampo che vedi in una notte d’estate è più di un semplice effetto magico: è un messaggio. Le lucciole si cercano, si rispondono, si seducono — a volte si ingannano — usando un linguaggio fatto di bagliori perfettamente calibrati.

“Eccomi”, “seguimi”, “sono pronta”: ogni luce è una parola in un codice antico e silenzioso.

Il segreto di questo incanto è un minuscolo organo chiamato lanterna, nascosto sotto l’addome. Lì, grazie a una reazione biochimica dentro cellule specializzate chiamate fotociti, si sprigiona l’energia luminosa.

La prossima volta che ne vedi una brillare, ricorda: stai assistendo a una conversazione d’amore, scritta in luce, nell’alfabeto dei cieli bassi.

[camelidae]

Some nights it's hard to pick which stars to look at~

[geopsych]

Wish this were better but here’s video of fireflies at the cemetery. I took out the sound because some loud trucks went by on the road.

[sirfrogsworth]

I captured some little glowy friends having a rave in my neighbor's yard.

[spiny-ant]

If you notice there's less lightning bugs around then there was when you were young, you aren't going crazy. Lightning bugs/fireflies are becoming endangered!

Above is a video from one of my favorite youtubers, Ze Frank, that goes into more detail.

Lightning bug conservation is not being funded, so the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation requires donations to further their research. The aim is to establish lighting bug sanctuaries and begin habitat restoration efforts.

Studying these little guys has done so much for us in many different fields including medicine! It's important that lightning bugs are protected so future generations can experience that magical feeling of sitting in a field surrounded by little lights.

Please consider donating! Every bit helps🐝

Reblogs are appreciated!

[madcat-world]

Pondside Pondering - FLOOKO

[possumcollege]

This is a bug-hunt, my dear. A bug-hunt!

[gatorpond]

writing eulogies for species we haven't yet lost mourning a world full of tiny lives i could never save

[nocturnal-stims]

🍁 Babaktafreshi on IG

[stimlanders-collection]

Sparx The Dragonfly stimboard!

🐝-🐝-🐝|🐝-🐝-🐝|🐝-🐝-🐝

[seeminglydark]

Next prompt, firefly chasing from @dreamcatcher-ranger via ask

i LOVE this idea so much, thats why i waited on it til i was close to done, i really wanted to do something fun with it. I dont think fireflies are native to western washington state, so i decided it would be really sweet for John to show them sometime, if they ever visit somewhere southeast, close to where hes from. (yes thats right, childhood pals but he moved there when he was about 5!)

the first time i saw fireflies i thought i was tripping on something.

the second time i saw them, i had broken into a graveyard after hours for reasons (the reason was nothing nefarious, i was looking for someone) somewhere in Indiana, and the etherealness of watching tiny flickering lights dance among the willows and gravestones is burned into my brain for eternity.

ps i didnt answer this as an ask cuz often it clips out the art unless the viewer clicks it, so i figured id do it this way so the piece can shine through, cuz i love it.

[fred-waffen]

[geopsych]

Posting a second firefly video in case it’s better than the last. This one is at the park just inside the gate, taken from a spot where I often take sunrise pictures.