They are all gone now.
My son wants to know why they leave Ohio in the fall-too cold?
Better rents in the south?
Here’s a bit on the life cycle of the firefly. The adults only live 3-4 weeks, so they’re not going anywhere. WAG here, but day length or temperature or moisture probably controls the rate of egg hatching. The last batch of eggs laid is probably waiting under a leaf for the return of summer.
Well, reading between the lines in Donald Ray Burger’s web site it would seem that since they generally signal to mate, once they have mated they quit signalling. They have not actually left, (they do not appear to be migratory), they have simply quit advertising for mates. Mr. Burger, a Houston Lawyer, also has a really extensive page with links to more firefly information.
BTW, there is an interesting web site for kids on animals, in general, at http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/printouts.shtml
Where I live ( western NY state , near Canadian border) the fireflys are really and truly gone ! They were wiped out by the insectacide spraying hastily done this summer to kill the mosquitoes ,which were implicated in the spread of West Nile Virus to the area. Where ,last year , my nighlty strolls through grassy fields with my dog, treated me to a lightshow of countless firefly flashes ,now I see only black darkness. I hope some of the larvae have escaped so that ,at least next year, we can again have fireflies.
Is that spraying dangerous? Because last week we were walking down the street and the spray truck went by us.
We smelled the stuff (it smelled like what my former landlord used to do our apts. with for roaches).
Are we in any danger?
They say it’s safe. But who really could tell ? I hear horror stories about people or dogs having seisures after one of those sprayings. But nothing can be proven. Oh, by the way , the frogs are gone too ! The spray killed all the tadpoles . That is very sad . I like frogs ; their presence is an indicator of a healthy environment. Instead of spraying for mosquitoes, we should encourage the spread of bats ,those tiny little creatures that fly around at night eating tons and tons of mosquitoes for free.