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. And once bees are wiped out, the planet will hardly survive for a handful of months, according to some researchers.
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.