A decade or so ago, around the first week of June, at twilight, many fields and meadows in Pennsylvania would be lit up with fireflies (aka lightning bugs). They were fascinating to watch: some with a long dash light and others with a short blink, blink, blink flash.
Anyone who watches fireflies knows they are not nearly as numerous as they were in the past.
This decrease in fireflies goes along with evidence that insect populations worldwide are in rapid decline. One study from not long ago tracked flying insects collected at nature preserves across Germany. It found that in just 25 years, the total biomass of these insects declined by 76%.
The reasons for the decline were not entirely clear, but the authors of the study suspect two main culprits: the use of pesticides and a decrease in habitat in surrounding farmland.
Proven steps to help stem insect decline are to provide buffer zones of wildflowers and native plants around single-crop fields and the reduction of pesticides and herbicides. We need to preserve our forests, wetlands and grassland wherever possible.
The fate of the world’s insects is inseparable from our own.
George J. Motsay
Upper Macungie Township
