Fireflies are disappearing in Texas. Can we bring them back?

Texas Green Report editor Julie Thibodeaux talks to Ben Pfeiffer, a New Braunfels-based biologist and founder of Firefly Conservation and Research, about what is causing firefly decline and ways we can help bring them back.

Transcript

Fireflies are disappearing in Texas. Can we bring them back?

JULIE THIBODEAUX: When I was growing up in North Texas, we used to spend summer evenings catching fireflies.

Now I can’t remember the last time I saw one in the suburbs. I recently hunted down a Texas firefly expert to find out where they’ve gone and if we can bring them back  in this episode of the Texas Green Report, a production of Green Source DFW and the Memnosyne Institute. I’m Julie Thibodeaux

When was the last time you saw a firefly?

Over the decades, I have seen a few here and there but nothing like when we hunted lightning bugs in our Arlington backyard in the 1960s and 70s.

Fireflies are becoming more scarce in Texas, especially in metropolitan areas where suburban sprawl is rampant.

Ben Pfeiffer, a New Braunfels-based biologist, wants to ensure new generations don't miss out on seeing them. That’s why he launched his nonprofit Firefly Conservation and Research in 2009.

Since then, Pfeiffer has become the leading advocate for fireflies in Texas.

BEN PFEIFFER:

Well, I grew up in Texas, native Texan, sixth generation. So I spent a lot of time outdoors, especially as a kid and on in South Texas and in the HillCcountry. And, you know, they were kind of just ubiquitous  with the environment. It was one of those things, you know, that you would see occasionally throughout the year, and just always had an appreciation for them, and an interest in, you know, why they lighted up and what was those mechanisms that created that. 

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

Once, on a trip to Puerto Rico, Pfeiffer said he swam in a bioluminescent lagoon, which further piqued his interest in bioluminescent life.

BEN PFEIFFER:

It's such a rare thing in the animal kingdom. 

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

While earning degrees in biology and business at Texas State University, he had purchased the domain firefly.org. Years later, he found a purpose for it — to educate people about fireflies.

BEN PFEIFFER:

I went on this kind of great adventure, all around Texas,and meeting up with other entomologists, and, you know in dusty the university collections from East Texas to Texas A&M, and just learning more in depth about what we had here. 

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

His familiarity with the Texas landscape gave him an advantage over firefly researchers from out of state.

BEN PFEIFFER:

Having a uniquely Texas perspective, visiting all parts of the state, equipped me with a much better knowledge of the habitat and the unique environments that we have so I can hunt them out a little easier.

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

Today, on Pfeiffer’s website Firefly.org you can find a plethora of facts about fireflies.

Fireflies are beetles. They spend most of their lives as larvae, only living about three weeks in their adult stage as flying beetles. Just enough time to mate and lay eggs.

They spend one to two years as larvae, munching on snails and worms. 

BEN PFEIFFER:

They act as nature's pest control.

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

Of course, fireflies are famous for their glowing lights. The flashing lights serve as signals, primarily to attract mates. The lights are also used to defend territory and warn predators.  

Their light is created when the firefly breaths in oxygen, a catalyst for the process, which involves two chemicals luciferin, which glows under certain conditions,  and luciferase, which triggers light emission.

The females typically have one light organ on their abdomen and the males have two.

When cruising for mates, the males turn their flashers on to attract females. The females then give them the "green light" with their own luminescent response.

BEN PFEIFFER:

She's looking for faster flash rates, or longer flashes. So she's looking for the most robust male in order to sire her offspring with essentially.

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

Their flashing light patterns are also identifiers, with each species flashing at signature speeds, intervals and colors.

BEN PFEIFFER:

So it can run the gamut from red light all the way to kind of a yellow, greenish light. And you get orange in between and, and so on. So it's it's really specific to the species or genus or family that they're from. 

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

According to Pfeiffer, firefly lights are the most efficient lights in the world — 100 percent of their energy is emitted as light. Compare that to an incandescent bulb, which emits only 10 percent of its energy as light and the rest as heat, and a fluorescent bulb, which emits 90 percent of its energy as light. 

In some firefly species, the larvae and even the eggs glow.

Fireflies have been spotted on every continent except Antarctica, according to Pfeiffer. 

BEN PFEIFFER:

Fireflies occur all along the eastern seaboard in the Mid Atlantic, all the way down to Florida, in the South and to Texas. And there's even species that occur within New Mexico and Arizona and Colorado and Utah. 

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

Texas is rich in firefly diversity, with about 45 species of fireflies observed, a fifth of the 240 species in the U.S. 

According to Pfeiffer, fireflies can be found all over Texas — roughly 80 to 85 percent of the state — with East Texas being one of the prime spots for firefly habitat.

BEN PFEIFFER:

Probably the only places in Texas, it's gonna be a little harder to see them, it's going to be in more of the Panhandle region. And also in some of the kind of Trans Pecos area kind of like, think about like the Permian Basin area. 

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

Fireflies love warm, humid areas. They thrive in forests, fields and marshes near lakes, rivers, ponds, streams and vernal pools. They spend most of their lives living low to the ground in leaf litter and under rotting logs and rocks.

BEN PFEIFFER:

 You can find them in riparian corridors, or areas. And this is basically that strip of vegetation that occurs along a creek or river. And so you can find them in those sources that have consistent water. But you can also find them away from riparian corridors. We've got species here, that like a little drier, and they like to like kind of exist, like, let's say, at the base of  a cedar tree. 

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

Pfeiffer recommends looking for them in state parks, natural areas and nature preserves and even city parks.

Pfeiffer said start watching for them about 15 to 30 minutes before dusk, as they typically come out before it gets dark.

Their flight time usually lasts an hour. However, in the summer, you can see fireflies from about 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. because different species come out at different times.

BEN PFEIFFER:

And occasionally, there'll be stragglers. I saw fireflies last night actually until midnight.

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

The main driving force for firefly decline is habitat loss.

BEN PFEIFFER:

In some places in Texas, they're doing just fine in areas that are protected and that historically had really robust fireflies — so you think of your preserves, your parks and your natural areas.

But in other parts of the state, that are rapidly growing. Think about some of the Metroplex areas that are expanding, you know, with sprawl and suburban areas, the main driving force for a lot of firefly decline force for a lot of firefly decline is related to habitat loss. 

Those previous ranges where they were extant or occurred, are basically disappearing to concrete and asphalt. And once those populations are gone, it's very hard to for fireflies, to recover . Now, they will migrate slowly. But that takes a really, really long time. 

What we're really concerned with as firefly scientists is the loss of unique, locally adapted species. So these are species that are endemic to Texas, and not necessarily the common type of firefly. And so when you get the loss of those, you know, species that occurred just in let's say, you know, five counties within Texas,  that's kind of a big loss of species diversity. 

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

Another cause of firefly decline is pollution — both contamination in watersheds from run-off as well as something not always recognized for its harmful effects — light pollution.

BEN PFEIFFER:

Rarely will you ever see a firefly flash underneath a street lamp  because they prefer darkness to maximize their ability in order to flash to females — males flashing to females and vice versa. 

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

Pesticide use is another factor causing firefly decline as it can kill their food sources as well as the fireflies themselves.

BEN PFEIFFER:

So if you're spraying anything to kill beetles, you're killing fireflies, because fireflies are beetles essentially.

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

For the last 15 years, Pfeiffer has traveled around giving talks on fireflies. Every year, he hosts an annual firefly watch party at Crescent Bend Nature Park in Schertz, outside of San Antonio in May. 

BEN PFEIFFER:

This is a really great opportunity to bring out large groups of kids that have never experienced fireflies and adults as wel.

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

Pfeiffer will talk then lead a walk through the preserve, where attendees can catch and ID fireflies.

BEN PFEIFFER:

I do encourage people to catch fireflies. It's the only way that you can like tactfully kind of understand what they are.

And, you know, catch them, see him flash, put them in a jar and then you know, at the end of the night, let them go

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

Last year Pfeiffer stepped up his firefly conservation campaign with the launch of the Firefly Certification program. On his site, he sells Firefly Habitat signs to put in your yard or other property.

The metal signs cost $45 and come with instructions on how to set up and maintain firefly habitat.

Pfeiffer says it provides another tool to bring attention to the issue. He hopes the firefly habitats will catch on the way that pollinator gardens have.

So far they’ve certified around 350 firefly habitats across the nation. They’ve even been contacted by an organization called Natuurpunt, based in Belgium.

BEN PFEIFFER:

They want to adapt the science as well to protecting habitats in France and Belgium and Sweden. And so we're gonna we're working on that conjointly with them right now. 

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

Pfeiffer offers tips for creating a firefly habitat in your yard.

He recommends the following: 

1. Plant native plants. 

BEN PFEIFFER:

Native grasses are really good at retaining soil moisture, because their roots are so deep. 

2. Restrict pesticides. Pesticides and herbicides can harm not only fireflies but their larvae’s food sources, snails and worms.

3. Leave the leaf litter. The noncompacted material provides shelter and helps keep the soil moist.

4. Reduce light pollution. Outdoor lighting can affect and disrupt successful firefly mating. Turn off lights, use security lights with motion sensors or switch to yellow or amber lights, which aren’t as disruptive to insects. 

And Pfeiffer encourages Texans to step outside and keep your eye out at dusk.

The really cool thing about fireflies is that it gets you out in the evening at dusk and that was one of my favorite times to be outside. You know we’re so used to trying to experience the habitat or our environment during the day when it’s light. But experiencing a place when it’s at night is something that is completely unique.

JULIE THIBODEAUX:

For more information about fireflies or to get your Firefly Certification sign, go to Firefly.org. For more environmental news in Texas, go to GreenSourceTexas.org. I’m Julie Thibodeaux.