Summer is the best season to see glimmering fireflies in the forest, and Fireflyers International Network has designated the first weekend of July as World Firefly Day, calling on people to protect our glowing friends. 

There are about 2,000 known firefly species in the world, and China is home to about 200 of them. Many fireflies live in wet and wooded areas where their larvae can find abundant snails and slugs to eat. The larvae stage can last from several weeks to over two years. 

The light-emitting insects that we see are their adults. Some feed on pollen or nectar, while others have no mouth. The sole purpose of their transient lives that last for only one to two weeks is to mate and lay eggs. For centuries, millions of fireflies have been captured from the wild and sold. When these adults are caught and released into an environment that doesn't allow them to survive for over a couple of days, they can't reproduce, leading to a population drop. 

Apart from over-collection, fireflies are threatened by habitat destruction and degradation, pesticides, light pollution, poor water quality, invasive species, and climate change. According to an assessment of the extinction risk for firefly species in Canada and the U.S. in 2021, 11 percent of the 128 species evaluated are threatened with extinction, 2 percent are near threatened, 33 percent are categorized as of least concern, and more than half are data deficient, based on IUCN Red List criteria. 

The good news is that changes and conservation efforts are seen around the world. Japan was among the first countries that learned how to rear fireflies in laboratory settings and also among the first to protect its wild population. In China, Fu Xinhua, an associate professor at Huazhong Agricultural University, set up the first protected area for fireflies at Dalei Mountain in Hubei Province in 2014. In 2021, 11 firefly species were added to the list of wild animals with important ecological, scientific and social values for the first time in China, bringing more hope to the protection of fireflies.

For more: 

Fireflies episode 1: The hostile forest for the fireflies

Fireflies episode 2: The master of disguise

Fireflies episode 3: The hunting world

Fireflies episode 4: The secret of light

Fireflies episode 5: The brutal larvae

Fireflies episode 6: Outshining rivals 

Fireflies episode 7: Interference from artificial light

(Cover image via CFP)

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