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Fireflies Face Extinction From Habitat Loss, Light Pollution and Pesticides, Study Says
05 February
Animals
A firefly perched on a blade of grass, its abdomen lit in bright yellow light. James Jordan Photography / Moment / Getty Images
Human activity threatens to make summer nights a little less magical.
<p>A study <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biz157/5715071" target="_blank">published in BioScience</a> Monday set out to assess the greatest threats to the world's approximately 2,000 species of fireflies. While very little population data exists for most species of the "iconic" glowing beetles, researchers in the field have observed a decline in recent years.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjY1ODM5MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5MTAxNDU0Mn0.Ao2N09Q7V7V5M9F7R12v4NPmM1id0MLWlvF1FVVduYY/img.jpg?width=980" id="03ac7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="be754bc91d791e59e7f163c83287b533" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
This is a composite of several long exposure photographs of fireflies in a yard in Milo, Maine, U.S. Mike Lewinski / Unsplash
<p>"We looked around and said, 'huh, there just don't seem to be as many fireflies around as there used to be,'" lead study author and Tufts University biology professor Sara Lewis, who has spent her career studying the mating rituals of a few firefly species, <a href="https://www.popsci.com/story/environment/firefly-extinction/" target="_blank">told Popular Science</a>.<br></p><p>So the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/" target="_blank">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a> (IUCN) established a Firefly Specialist Group in 2018 to assess the glowing <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/insects" target="_self">insects</a>' <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> status. As part of that work, they sent out a survey to 350 members of the Fireflyers International Network asking them the chief risks faced by the species they studied.</p><p>The answer? Habitat loss, artificial light and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides" target="_self">pesticides</a>, in that order.</p><iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" id="twitter-embed-1224781418791874560" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1224781418791874560&created_ts=1580845620.0&screen_name=TuftsUniversity&text=According+to+a+Tufts+University-led+team+of+biologists+associated+with+the+International+Union+for+the+Conservation%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FCbObfkRmJx&id=1224781418791874560&name=Tufts+University" frameborder="0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9OT1ZM1580917242"></iframe>
Habitat Loss
<p>"Lots of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> species are declining because their habitat is shrinking," Lewis said in a <a href="https://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/lights-out-fireflies-face-extinction-threats-habitat-loss-light-pollution-pesticides" target="_blank">Tufts press release</a>, "so it wasn't a huge surprise that habitat loss was considered the biggest threat."</p><p>However, some firefly species are particularly vulnerable because they require very specific conditions. The Malaysian firefly <em>Pteroptyx tener</em>, famous for its synchronized light shows, needs mangroves to flourish. Previous research had noted the species' decline due to the clearing of mangroves to plant <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/palm-oil">palm oil</a> plantations and aquaculture farms.</p>Light Pollution
<p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/light-pollution" rel="noopener noreferrer">Artificial light</a> is a major problem for fireflies because they use their famous bioluminescence to find mates, and bright human lights can disrupt these courtship signals.</p><p>"In addition to disrupting natural biorhythms – including our own – light pollution really messes up firefly mating rituals," study coauthor and Tufts PhD candidate Avalon Owens explained in the press release.</p>Pesticides
<p>The use of agricultural pesticides like organophosphates and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/neonicotinoids" rel="noopener noreferrer">neonicotinoids</a> threatens fireflies, especially during their larval stages, when they spend as many as two years living below the ground or underwater. This makes them especially sensitive to pesticides that end up on lawns or in the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/soil" rel="noopener noreferrer">soil</a>, according to Popular Science.</p><p>While more specific research is needed on the impact of these chemicals on fireflies, the evidence suggests that they are harmful to the glowing bugs as they are to other insects, the Tufts release explained.</p>'Insect Apocalypse'
<p>Indeed, the plight of fireflies is reflected across the insect class. A <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/insect-apocalypse-will-have-dire-con-sequences-for-all-life-on-earth-report-warns-2641341433.html" target="_self">November 2019</a> study warned that 41 percent of insects are threatened with <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/species-extinction" rel="noopener noreferrer">extinction</a>, which could lead to an "insect apocalypse" with serious consequences for humans and other life on Earth.</p><p>Dave Goulson, the University of Sussex biology professor who authored that study, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/03/world/fireflies-extinction-risk-scn/index.html" target="_blank">told CNN</a> that the threats of habitat loss and pesticide use were also the leading causes of the overall insect decline.</p><p>"Of course fireflies are particularly vulnerable to light pollution, more so than perhaps any other insect group, so it makes sense that this also emerges as a major concern," Goulson said.</p><p>Lewis expressed hope that focusing the spotlight on fireflies could raise awareness about the plight of insects generally and build the will to save them.</p><p>"Fireflies are actually an insect that everybody can get behind," she told Popular Science.</p>From Your Site Articles
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tomosang / Moment / Getty Images
By Jessica A. Knoblauch
Say goodbye to one of the dreamiest things about childhood. In the Midwest, fireflies are dying off.
<p>For many Americans, it's hard to imagine summer nights without the magical glow of dozens of bioluminescent bodies fluttering above the grasses and fields, and lighting up the dark skies above.</p><p>But the die-offs aren't just limited to fireflies — or to the American heartland. As anyone who's been paying attention to the news this summer knows, species across the globe are taking a nosedive toward extinction. The <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/" target="_blank">United Nations report on biodiversity</a> that came out in May is just the latest assessment to <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/" target="_blank">warn</a> that the health of our ecosystems is "deteriorating more rapidly than ever."</p>
<p>Humans are largely to blame. By spraying toxic <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides">pesticides</a>, polluting our air and water, degrading the landscape, and emitting ever more carbon, we've essentially captured nature in a big glass Mason jar, screwed the lid tight, and neglected to punch holes in the top. According to the UN report, these unsustainable actions are causing nature to decline at unprecedented rates and accelerating the rate of species' extinction. Around 1 million animal and plant species — more than ever before in human history — are now threatened with extinction, many within decades.</p><p>Scientists say that the estimated 2,000 species of fireflies <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/15/us/firefly-population-science-in-a-twinkle-of-nighttime-in-the-south.html" target="_blank">have been declining for years</a>. Losing these glowing creatures, also known as "lightning bugs" <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/firefly-lightning-bug-english-language-map-2018-7" target="_blank">in some parts of the U.S.</a>, robs future generations of one of the simplest and most pleasurable joys of childhood. It also robs doctors and researchers of a valuable diagnostic tool. By injecting chemicals found in a firefly's tail into human cells, researchers can <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/07/22/scientists-are-working-with-the-light-of-fireflies-to-improve-medical-diagnoses/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.0eb708c98864" target="_blank">detect diseases</a> like cancer and muscular dystrophy.</p><p>On a broader scale, losing plant and animal species at an accelerated rate threatens "the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide," <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/" target="_blank">warn the UN researchers</a>. Up to $577 billion in annual global crops are at risk from pollinator loss alone.</p><p>Yet there's still time — just barely — to turn things around. </p><p>At Earthjustice, our attorneys have fought for decades to protect <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" rel="noopener noreferrer">endangered species</a> big and small from harm. Just recently, we <a href="https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2019/court-upholds-protections-for-rare-california-gnatcatcher" target="_blank">successfully defended</a> against attempts by developers to remove endangered species protections for the California gnatcatcher. This adorable little songbird lives in the rapidly declining sagebrush habitat unique to coastal southern California and northern Baja California, which is also home to many other species.</p><p>Of course, we know it's not enough to address the extinction crisis bird by bird. The UN report recommends a transformative societal shift toward an economic model where we value nature by restoring, conserving, and using it sustainably. That's why Earthjustice is also tackling the extinction crisis at a broader level.</p><p>In the courts, we're defending core conservation laws like the Endangered Species Act, which has a <a href="https://earthjustice.org/features/the-endangered-species-act" target="_blank">99 percent success rate in stopping species' extinction</a>. On the Hill, we're <a href="https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2019/earthjustice-endorses-resolution-on-the-green-new-deal" target="_blank">supporting</a> bold ideas like the Green New Deal, which lays out a vision for systemic change that matches the scale of the environmental crisis. </p><p>We already have many of the legal and policy tools needed to stop a mass extinction. Now we must push for the political will to open the jar and set loose a just and sustainable future for all.</p>
<p><em>Jessica A. Knoblauch is a former award-winning journalist. She enjoys wild places and dispensing justice, so she considers her job here to be a pretty amazing fit.</em></p>
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