Fireflies are Now at the Edge of Extinction Due of Light Pollution

Gorgeous glowing fireflies will soon be extinct, confirms study: A new report published in the BioScience journal on February 3, 2020, confirms big trouble for the existence of fireflies. Loss of habitat, artificial light pollution, pesticides are among the top ten causes of their extinction.

Sara Lewis is the lead author of the published study and a biologist at Tufts University in Massachusetts. She, along with a dozen other contributors to the study, belongs to the Firefly Specialist Group, which was set up in 2018. It is part of the IUCN or International Union for the Conservation of Nature that compiles the Red List of threatened species.

Sara said about the Big Dipper fireflies that flourish in the US that they can survive anywhere. Only some species get hit due to habitat loss as they will need specific conditions to complete their life cycle.

Things affecting the reproduction of fireflies:

Avalon Owens is the co-author of the study and a doctoral student at Tufts University. She said that apart from the disruption of the natural biorhythms, it is the light pollution that messes with the mating rituals of the fireflies. Most of the fireflies species depend on their ability to light up for finding and attracting mates. But the adult fireflies live only for a few days even though their larval phase takes months and years. Hence these twinkling bees do not even eat and solely focus on reproducing for the short duration they live.

The researchers in the report have listed out many things that cause the extinction of the fireflies. For killing pests, organophosphates and neonicotinoids are made, but they also kill the beneficial effects is one of their contentions. The researchers conclude their report of not harming these world's beautiful luminescent beetles or will lose their gorgeous glowing that illuminates fields and forests during the night time.