(31 Jul 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York – 28 July 2025
1. Various of fireflies lighting up in Prospect Park
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jessica Ware, entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History:
"So we’re seeing lots of observations kind of across the Northeast with high numbers of fireflies."
3. Timelapse of fireflies lighting up in Prospect Park
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jessica Ware, entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History:
"We think for fireflies this year, because it was such a moist, wet spring with lots of rain in the Northeast, that that seems to have made a really good juvenile habitat, habitat where the babies are kind of developing and growing."
5. Fireflies lighting up in Prospect Park
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jessica Ware, entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History:
"When you see a year like this year where there’s a really high number of fireflies, it might give you kind of like a sense of false hope, right? Maybe the populations are quite big and that the species in our area are doing quite well, but we think that that’s not the case."
7. Various of fireflies lighting up in Prospect Park
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jessica Ware, entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History:
"The causes of firefly decline we think are light pollution primarily because when it’s very bright, they have a hard time seeing each other’s species-specific signal. They can’t communicate if they don’t have the dark sky. But then there’s also lots of insecticide use."
9. Mid of fireflies lighting up in Prospect Park
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Jessica Ware, entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History:
"That means that next summer, if there happens to be a dry spring, we’re going to be back to low numbers. So we still need to do some work ourselves to kind of change our behavior to really make sure that large populations can continue to stay large."
11. Fireflies lighting up in Prospect Park
STORYLINE:
Fireflies are lighting up summer evenings in New York and the Northeast, putting on dazzling shows in backyards and city parks.
There’s no official count, but experts say a particularly wet spring may have created the ideal conditions for young fireflies to grow into adults to set summer nights aglow.
Fireflies light the night everywhere: there are over 2,000 known species across the globe. They use their characteristic flashes to communicate and find the perfect mate.
In New York City, the lightning bugs are out in the five boroughs, sparkling once the sun goes down in places like Central and Prospect Park. The summer months are ideal to spot them, as they start to dwindle throughout the month of August.
While northeastern nights may seem brighter this summer, the bugs are still on the decline and they’re waning at a faster rate than ever before.
"When you see a year like this year where there’s a really high number of fireflies, it might give you kind of like a sense of false hope, right?" said entomologist Jessica Ware with the American Museum of Natural History "Maybe the populations are quite big and that the species in our area are doing quite well, but we think that that’s not the case."
Habitat loss, pesticide use and light pollution are responsible for a decline in population. In cities, blaring lights from billboards, cars and storefronts can drown out the bugs’ glow, making it harder for them to find their kin and pass their genes onto the next generation.
To look out for fireflies, consider turning the lights off at night and avoid spraying front lawns with insecticides.
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