PITTSBURGH — About half of Allegheny County Parks field programs on fireflies are booked up and the 11th Pennsylvania Firefly Festival Nights in Forest County Kellettville is sold out again.
The festival, running from June 30-July 1, is famous among lightning bug aficionados. This year, 50 people were picked from a lottery of 3,000 seeking reservations to view the sparkling jewels of the night.
What's behind the demand? Love of fireflies.
"Most of the abundance and diversity of this group of insects is in the eastern part of the United States. It's part of our childhood, growing up, running around catching fireflies and seeing them all the time," said Charles Bier, senior director of conservation science at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
"There are kids in the western states who don't see them. They didn't grow up with the magic here."
State officials acknowledged that magic in naming the Pennsylvania firefly as the state insect.
Their soft glow is appreciated even more as light pollution and other factors impact their numbers and the insect's ability to send light signals to each other, according to researchers.
The Pennsylvania Firefly Festival is asking residents to turn off or shade outdoor lights during firefly mating season. Their campaign, Lights out for Lightning Bugs! runs from June 24-30 and continues throughout the summer.
Pennsylvania, rich with moist river valleys, is prime habitat for about 20 species of the luminescent beetles, Bier said.
Although studies show the global decline of lightning bugs, Bier said he is not sure what is happening in Pennsylvania, as there are many species of fireflies, each affected by different things.
One in three species of North American fireflies studied may be at risk of extinction, according to an international conservation organization. The Xerces Society says light pollution, habitat loss, climate change and possibly pesticide use are the major threats to lightning bugs in the United States and Canada.
Generally, their natural habitats need to be disturbed as little as possible to "allow a multitude of biodiversity to survive, including fireflies," Bier said.
A firefly's bioluminescence, caused by a chemical reaction, serves as a mating signal, a lure in some predatory species, and a warning to predators, he said. Different types of fireflies produce varying light patterns and colors of light flashes.
Where to see fireflies
Firefly programs are offered at local, county, state and federal parks.
Although half of the firefly programs offered by Allegheny County Parks this summer are booked, park rangers won't turn anyone away, according to the department. People can also look in their backyards or on a rails-to-trails at dusk when firefly activity heats up.
"A lot of rails-to-trails have lower elevations along moist habitats," Bier noted.
With wide paths at night, these trails are easier to walk on than navigating a narrow path in the forest.
The most famous backyard to see fireflies is in Kellettville, where Peggy and Ken Butler started the Firefly Festival more than a decade ago.
The Butlers live in an old farmhouse with a backyard next to the Allegheny National Forest on 15 acres replete with a hollow and ravine. Researchers discovered synchronous fireflies near their bed and breakfast, which attracted more researchers and celebrity biologist Sir David Attenborough.
There can be five or six species of fireflies flashing, with the synchronous ones flashing at the same time. The show continues through the summer.
"It's beyond what you can count when there are fireflies in the thousands on a given summer evening," Peggy Butler said.
The best nights are warm and muggy in the heat of summer. "Cool nights are not so good."
Also essential are red-light flashlights or headlamps with a red filter. While the red light minimizes the light's impact, watchers need to turn them off once they arrive at a place to watch, Butler advised.
"If you shine a regular flashlight, they stop flashing and you don't see them," she said. She and her firefly watchers use walking sticks, stay on the path and take it slow while walking in the dark.
Butler cautions people not to go stumbling around in the Allegheny Forest or unfamiliar terrain at night. Bier reminds night walkers to be aware of their surroundings as some wildlife is active.
Seeing common varieties of fireflies need not be that involved, Butler said.
One of the most common species in the region is the big dipper firefly, which isn't impacted by artificial light as much as other species, she said. They are the fireflies many see at dusk in July right before fireworks displays.
"They are active for 45 minutes right at dusk," Butler said. "You can almost set your watch by them."
Better yet, plan an evening stroll that finishes around dusk when fireflies start to flash, Bier said.
Going dark
"Some of the best places to watch for fireflies are dark areas in your neighborhood," said Stephen Bucklin, naturalist educator at the Frick Environmental Center and president of the Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club.
Any park or greenway has the potential to be firefly habitat, especially moist, open areas with low-growing plants.
"I have seen particularly astounding numbers of fireflies in the meadow habitats around the Frick Environmental Center in Frick Park and near Panther Hollow Lake in Schenley Park," he said.
There are other great areas in the city for firefly watching, he added.
Seek out natural habitats and not neighborhoods with manicured lawns, said Diane Turnshek, a special lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University, an adjunct lecturer for the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Physics and Astronomy, and the founder of the Pittsburgh chapter of the International Dark-Sky Association.
"Anywhere there is an edge of a forest, dark backyards and undisturbed areas is good," she said.
As an astronomer, Turnshek said the dark areas around observatories are great places to see lightning bugs. One such place is Allegheny Observatory in Riverview Park on the North Side. The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium parking lot can be good, as can the Braddock Trail in Frick Park, she said.
"We went to Allegheny Cemetery last year, and wow, there were a lot of fireflies. You don't need an event to go see them."
She's working on a research project mapping the darkest areas, which includes cemeteries, parks and playgrounds.
There are ways to reduce light pollution around your home.
"LEDs can be tuned to lower temperatures that look amber in color, which affects insects less. Education about thoughtful outdoor lighting is the key to not harming insects in the nighttime ecosystem," Turnshek said.
Firefly events
Pennsylvania Firefly Festival and education: pafireflyevents.org
Allegheny County Parks firefly programs: anc.apm.activecommunities.com
Pennsylvania State Parks: events.dcnr.pa.gov
Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania: aswp.org
