NGM Blog Central - Dimming Lights - National Geographic Magazine

Firefly-455
If the dark seems a little darker these days—and the world a bit less wonderful—it probably is. Researchers in Asia, Europe, and North America are seeing dramatic declines in fireflies. Thailand is one place that seems to be losing the bioluminescent beetles. For centuries they blinked along Thai rivers with splendid synchronicity. Foreign visitors compared their lights to chandeliers or Christmas candles. Locals were able to fish solely by their flashes.

But the glow appears to be fading. “Twenty years ago I saw many,” says Thai entomologist Watana Sakchoowong. “Now there are no more.”

Scientific counts are just starting. No one has yet confirmed what’s causing the population drops, but experts suspect habitat loss and light pollution. In Thailand, riverbanks where larvae fed on snails have been built over or undercut by waves from tourist boats. Artificial light from shoreline developments, meanwhile, makes it hard for firefly adults to find each other and mate in the changing night. —Karen E. Lange

Photo: Steve Irvine, My Shot

Posted by National Geographic Staff | Comments (0)
Filed Under: Environment, Wide Angle

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