Seems like we have a lot fewer fireflies in NE Ohio this summer than in years past - like a third or a quarter as many as usual, as I recall. How is it in your neck of the woods? Any explanations?
You’re right…I’ve only seen a few this year, and one was during the day while weeding. The neighbor kids were out the other night chasing the bunnies, and I thought they’d be going for the fireflies, too, and then I realized there were none! But then, I’m only 30 minutes away from you, so this doesn’t give a very good sample, does it!
I’m in Tennessee and I’ve had lots of them. It did seem for a couple weeks there were fewer, but they’ve bounded back. I saw the first this year in February, whih is earlier than normal, I think.
StG
Ahhhhh, nature. 
Just saw the first ones tonight. It seems like they’re on time – mid to late June. Our temps have been warmish, but low humidity. Do fireflies like humidity?
I’m not hearing any crickets yet. Seems like they should be chirping.
Lots of bird noise though, and a wren has been spending a lot of time on the deck. He (she? I don’t know) even perched on a windowsill and sang to us – and stayed there for about half an hour. That’s a first for us.
I’ve seen them sparking since about May 1st. A play on words sparking being courtship also. I saw them as bugs in the marsh in April. I can recognize them in the daytime.
In NEO as well. I’m seeing them, but they are noticeably fewer in number.
Chicago area here. I’ve only seen a couple. Bummer, as I consider them one of the Top Ten Joys In Life. Do kids still send jars full of them to NASA?
The kids were out in the back yard last week trying to catch fireflies and there were hardly any to be found. We thought maybe it just wasn’t late enough in the summer yet.
We had a late, hard freeze this spring, could that have anything to do with it?
There’s a theory that the little buggers are going extinct, due in part to anti-mosquito measures.
They’re up here. We don’t usually see fireflies - in fact, when I was a kid, I remember seeing them for the first time when my family was vacationing in the south. Lately, though, we’ve seen them at our house at night. Very odd, but I’m liking it!
My neighborhood has pretty nearly (but not quite) the normal number for this time of year. (Of course, my back yard is a swamp.)
Based on previous years’ fluctuations, I would attribute any perceived drop-off to the dry weather we’ve been having. Our humidity is much lower and many of our nghts have been cooler than normal and over the years I have noticed that they much prefer warm, humid conditions.
We also had a pretty hard winter, which tends to knock down the flying insect population, in general. (The upside are the relatively fewer mosquitoes, horseflies, houseflies, etc.; the downside are the relatively fewer fireflies and mosquito-devouring dragonflies.)
They’re all in our yard, I think. We’ve been having them like crazy! Between the fireflies and the whippoorwills, it’s been a joy to be outside at night lately.
We’ve seen just a few. I meant to look up whether it was actually too early for them but forgot, so this thread was good timing.
It’s been so dry and hot, everything feels weird.
My first confiirmed sigthing was the evening of June 1, which I thought was a bit early for our neighborhood.
They will increase in numbers yet, so don’t think they’re all dying. The summer has hardly begun.
I’m around the lake from you near Buffalo. We were talking about this last week. We’ve had an extraordanary amount lately.
Maybe they migrated?
I have hundreds in my back yard - more than I have had in many years. So many, in fact, that they are getting into the house and flashing against the screens and walls etc.
They’re all over the place here in central Connecticut.
Same here. Unfortunately one got caught under my wiper and flashed valiantly till it…faded away.
They’re all here in NW Missouri. We seem to have a wealth of them. My daughters have been catching jars full of them at a time. (no fireflies were harmed during the capture and all were released (except for the one that got smashed by the lid while trying to escape))
When I go in the back yard at night, where it’s darker, I can see hundreds of flashes of fireflies.
It was a fairly mild winter and we’ve had decent rainfall this spring, for all I know that may account for it.
P.S.
Damn, I left this post incomplete and left the office for a few hours. What the hell.