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hiss srq
2007-10-08, 01:08 PM
Strange question for everyone. (What else is new) What has happened to all the lightning bugs? I remember as a kid there used to be tons of them on Long Island. Is it me or are there less or just none at all? I have not seen them in years and this year coming home to New York I expected to see plenty to no avail. Either that or my mother was putting some real funky stuff in my juice cups as a kid.
emshighway
2007-10-08, 01:56 PM
It's like the bees

A sign of the end of the earth...
adam613
2007-10-08, 02:25 PM
I saw a whole bunch of them over the summer...
T-Bird76
2007-10-08, 02:40 PM
This summer I didn't see all to many but last summer and the summer before there were tons of them. But I agree I remember years ago my entire backyard would be filled with them. Isn't it funny how we hate most bugs and we'd be ticked off if a swam of bugs invaded our backyards, but the lightning bugs get a free pass. lol
cancidas
2007-10-08, 03:09 PM
i remember seeing them in my backyard, but that was earlier in the summer. could have been as early as july.
RDU-JFK
2007-10-08, 03:13 PM
Are lightning bugs the same things as fireflies?
Alex T
2007-10-08, 04:54 PM
Are lightning bugs the same things as fireflies?

Yes, it depends where you are to call them that.

Here in the midwest I have heard them reffered to as fireflies.

But in more dense areas, cities I have heard them called as Lightning Bugs.

Both are one and the same.

Alex
Matt Molnar
2007-10-08, 05:25 PM
I noticed a sharp decrease of lightning bugs and butterflies that seemed to coincide with the hysteria about West Nile virus a few years ago and the ridiculous spraying that went along with it. This past summer they seem to be coming back a bit but still not as many as the old days.
wunaladreamin
2007-10-08, 06:06 PM
All the butterflies went to the beach. I was at Jones Beach 2 weekends ago and it was SWARMED.
PhilDernerJr
2007-10-08, 06:40 PM
The year of West Nile and the spraying certainly killed a lot of the insect world int he area. The year after, I don't think I knew anyone that had a mosquito bite at all. It killed EVERYTHING.

I saw a LOT of butterflies this year, but didn't notice fireflies.
Tom_Turner
2007-10-08, 07:02 PM
All the butterflies went to the beach. I was at Jones Beach 2 weekends ago and it was SWARMED.

Insects... don't generally care for them, but of the ones I tend to notice......

The last waves of the Monarch Migration is still in process along the coasts...

Cicadas had a *big* year I thought considering none of the major broods was scheduled for this year....

Happy to see wild honey bees the last half of the summer; they were conspicuous in their absence earlier this summer.

Didn't see a single Praying Mantis this year, but I imagine they are around. Walking Sticks and Luna Moths are two examples I have not seen in a number of years.....

Yes, the West Nile spraying took out a lot of wildlife... the Crow and Blue Jay population on SI took a real dive after that... coincidence?

Tom
T-Bird76
2007-10-08, 07:12 PM
All the butterflies went to the beach. I was at Jones Beach 2 weekends ago and it was SWARMED.
Didn't see a single Praying Mantis this year, but I imagine they are around. Walking Sticks and Luna Moths are two examples I have not seen in a number of years.....
Tom

Come to my backyard Tom, I have tons of them. I'm not a fan of bugs but Mantis's are just cool.
flyboy 28
2007-10-08, 07:34 PM
Every year we've always had a lot of lightning bugs. This year though, I've only seen a few on only a few evenings. Rather depressing.
heeshung
2007-10-09, 10:45 PM
I can't remember that far back into the summer about the abundance of fireflies, but I can confirm the butterfly sightings. I wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for this thread, but I can attest to seeing a couple more butterflies that normal in the past few weeks that were mostly Monarchs.
lijk604
2007-10-10, 05:45 PM
Urban sprawl has a lot to do with the decrease in butterflies as well.

As for the lightning bugs, I saw a few this summer but nothing like when I was a kid.
SengaB
2007-10-11, 04:37 AM
Come to Florida, You can have any kind of bug you want. The blasted Love bugs are BACK AGAIN. I thought we got rid if them for the season but for some reason to everyones suprise they started showing up again. They get all over everything while having sex including you and they ruin your car's paint if you don't remove them promptly (acidic bug guts).

Senga
Tom_Turner
2007-10-11, 10:23 PM
Senga - Whats a "Love Bug"?

Japanese beetles never bothered me if thats what they are.

At the other end of the spectrum, it was very disturbing to find so many palmetto bugs in the general Miami area last time I was there. Absolutely vile and repellent. Probably not even fit for an Iguana's diet.

Tom
nwafan20
2007-10-11, 10:43 PM
I think he is talking about lighting bugs (hence the title)
SengaB
2007-10-11, 10:56 PM
NO GUYS im talking about LOVE BUGS :)

Two attach themselves together have sex and and fly around and make love on anything including your face and then die due to lake of nurishment. The mail usually dies first and the female drags the male Luve Bug around frequently. They become a nuisence when they get into everything.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_bug

I have seen it worse than this.
Imagine if that was your car or plane...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7e/Swarmoflovebugs.jpg