In a glowing episode of his True Facts series, narrator Ze Frank takes a nostalgic look at fireflies, or as he calls them “sparklebutts”, in the United States and Canada.
This particular species of beetle uses their bioluminescent bottoms to communicate in a way that is more sophisticated than previously thought. Unfortunately, light pollution, pesticides and climate change have caused some species of fireflies to become threatened to the verge of extinction.
If you’ve been out on a summer’s evening and saw flashes of fireflies, or lightning bugs as some people call them, and for a moment you thought that when you were younger there seem to be a lot more of them, well don’t worry you’re not seeing things. Well actually you should worry because you’re not seeing things because all around the world people are reporting that they’re seeing fewer fireflies. ….Decline is because of all the artificial light that we use at night. You can see how much it’s increased over the last 75 years and that’ll kill the vibe.
Frank also talked about the Xerces Society and Candace Fallon‘s mission to save the fireflies.
You know fireflies aren’t just pretty. They’ve taught us a lot. What we’ve learned from their flashy little butts has led to techniques in medical imaging, LEDs and yes, even glow sticks, but even beyond that come on they’re magical. Going out into a field at night and watching those little sparklebutts? It’s incredible and I think that alone is worth protecting. With your help Candace and her team can establish firefly sanctuaries and continue their research into habitat restoration and species monitoring.
