Do kids still chase and catch lightning bugs?

[Anonymous]

They’re all over Capitol Hill! We’ve been spotting them (but not catching them) for the past couple of weeks.

[Anonymous]

We have a lot in our yard.

I use no chemicals to have a perfect lawn, nor do I use any chemicals for mosquito control. I have large areas planted with natives. I let the leaves fall and the plants to run their life time without tidying up.

My yard has huge numbers ofvarious species of bees, butterflies of various species, lightning bugs, cardinals, American gold finches, and just a wonderful diversity of life.

People need to stop with their sterile monoculture lawns that use tons of chemicals. Untidy areas are fantastic for pollinators and other life like lightning bugs. Believe it or not, you can have untidy areas and still look like you have yard that's well maintained.

The other thing that ruins lightning bugs and a ton of nature is too much lightning. Street lights are horrendous for a lot of nocturnal species. They also mess up a ton of the ability of lightning bugs to communicate through flashing. What I haven't really seen a ton of in years are bats. They seem to be extinct now when I used to see tons of them at night eating all of the mosquitoes.

[Anonymous]

Tons in old Mclean.

[Anonymous]

THe thing about catching lightning bugs is it tends to be a real letdown.

My kids catch them and look at them and go, oh, it's a bug.

Before you catch them they seem like magical faeries. Once you've caught them, they're kinda depressing.

[Anonymous]

NOPE, they are always on their phones

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Three things I rarely see anymore are lightning bugs, butterflies, and stars. Strange times we are living in. I am 46, and all three were very common sightings when I was a child.

You don’t see stars if you live by bright lights! They haven’t gone anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:THe thing about catching lightning bugs is it tends to be a real letdown.

My kids catch them and look at them and go, oh, it's a bug.

Before you catch them they seem like magical faeries. Once you've caught them, they're kinda depressing.

You are learning about science , and the environment.

Not depressing at all. Read up on how/why they light up. Nature is magical in its own way!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NOPE, they are always on their phones

Patents have to create these opportunities, so children learn that they are fun. Kids won’t ask!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tons in old Mclean.

+1 They light up in the trees in the most spectacular way that I have ever seen. Looks totally magical. Get your kid a little bug catcher. It’s fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fireflies lay their eggs in damp soil under leaf litter. When you were growing up did people bag and eradicate every leaf that fell? They sure seem to now. Also spraying for mosquitos kills everything. We still get fireflies but most of our neighbors don't.

Interesting! We have fireflies here in Arlington, but fewer now than before we had a yard service. And no butterflies. Will make some changes this fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Three things I rarely see anymore are lightning bugs, butterflies, and stars. Strange times we are living in. I am 46, and all three were very common sightings when I was a child.

You don’t see stars if you live by bright lights! They haven’t gone anywhere.

We live inside the beltway and view stars all the time. We take out a star map and view what we can. We have a butterfly bush in the yard and tons of flowers which attract butterflies. We catch lightning bugs in our yard nightly. Don’t be a bah-humbug.

[Anonymous]

Oh yes! My kids LOVE to catch fireflies. But we always release. I am too scarred from keeping so many in glass jars when I was little.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realize my kids have not and I cannot recall the last time I saw lightning bugs outside. It has been years.

There are less of them thanks to the nasty chemicals from mosquito joes and the like.

[Anonymous]

It’s so much fun! My kids love it, it’s such a magical experience. Sadly we have very few fireflies on my street, but there are pockets around the neighborhood where there are a ton.

Light pollution and pesticide use have done a number on the firefly population.

[Anonymous]

The species that comes out at dusk seems to be at peak right now, so take a look tomorrow evening! They were everywhere tonight.