Anita’s Blog – Gardening For Fireflies
- jjvanm
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
We don’t see lightening bugs, like we did when we were kids.
Could be, we’re not outdoors, joyfully running free in the night, cool, soft, grass beneath our feet, like we did as kids. We’re indoors escaping from the heat and resting up for another hard day at work.
Let’s face it, summers are special when you’re a kid. Summer nights hold their own special magic. Many times, during the dog days of summer, I write about the magic cicadas held over us as children. This year, there’s something new to talk about, like where are the fireflies?
Depending where you are from, lightening bugs/fireflies. Fireflies is the term used at iNaturalist.org
A loyal reader called my attention to the Texas Parks & Wildlife “Outdoor Magazine of Texas,” July 2026, article by Shilo Urban, where she interviewed Ben Pfeiffer, the state’s “foremost firefly expert and founder of the nonprofit Firefly Conservation & Research.”
It’s true. There are fewer fireflies than there used to be and not because we aren’t outside laughing and chasing tiny flying bugs that light up.
Drought has had a tremendous effect on the plight of firefly reproduction. Light pollution, pesticide use and loss of habitat to suburban and commercial development also contribute heavily to the decline of fireflies.
I’ll address light pollution first, because unless you’ve heard chapter member and Rio Grande Valley Outreach Coordinator for DarkSky Texas, Jennifer Rektorik’s brilliant “Dark Skies Over the Rio Grande Valley” presentations, you may think that was a misprint. It is not.
Light pollution affects fireflies and it will make you cry. But there’s hope, so continue reading after the startling but sad information.
“Artificial light at night disrupts firefly reproduction by washing out the delicate bioluminescent flash patterns males and females use to find and choose mates. When streetlights, porch lamps or LED glow brighten the dark, females stop responding to male signals and pairs fail to connect. Artificial light tricks their internal clocks, disrupting the normal timing needed for evening activity,” according to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, in a blog post about “Supporting Firefly Conservation from Coast To Coast.”
In addition, continuous artificial light can confuse fireflies and cause them to stop flashing entirely.
Of course we don’t want that to happen. There are things we can do to protect fireflies, but it might take some work, especially in our prolonged drought and hot, hot weather.
I read about the plight of the firefly at a number of websites, beginning with Pfeiffer’s Firefly.org.
Green Source Texas has a good site: https://www.greensourcetexas.org/articles/texans-urged-conserve-firefly-habitat-offset-decline
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has good information: https://www.fws.gov/story/save-fireflies
Besides providing darkness, Texas Master Naturalists mostly already know the other elements that will help save fireflies because it’s sort of our mantra:
· Plant native plants and shrubs
· Encourage leaf litter to accumulate
· Eliminate invasive species of plants that create monocultures and inhibit native plants
· Use non-pesticide solutions for insect control (better yet, accept the insects)
· In addition, mow grass less frequently and raise the length of the cut to four inches
· Those who live on or near a water source or have a water feature, avoid shredding (using string-weeders) or mowing vegetation along riparian areas
“Fireflies need pockets of moisture and leaf litter to survive,” according to Pfeiffer.
In the Rio Grande Valley, the hard part may be the moisture, on the other hand, because of our long hard hot dry summer, the trees are shedding their leaves like it is already winter, and providing a lot of leaflitter.
“Firefly larvae live in soil, mud and leaf litter and spend from one to two years growing until becoming adults, according Pfeifer’s research. “Gardens with leaf litter offer an oasis for good firefly larval development.”
Firefly larvae are subterranean, they eat snails, earthworms, slugs and other small insects. It’s helpful to tuck some logs to rot under bushy shrubs. Decaying logs are often found in habitats where fireflies live, such as vegetation that occurs next to a river or resaca that attract those good food sources for firefly larvae.
With a little more effort, in addition to stashing rotting logs, something else we can do is build firefly larvae shelters.
I’ve written about and designed PowerPoint presentations about gardening for butterflies, bees, pollinators, xeriscape, nectar gardens, gardening for hummingbirds, even gardening for bats. And now, gardening for fireflies.
A link in firefly.org describes building firefly habitat. The link has a wealth of information as well as directions for building something helpful. This is the link: If it isn’t active, copy and paste it.
I was pretty excited about being able to actively construct something that might be helpful in saving fireflies, and it was a grand opportunity (or so I thought) for some original research.
Besides that, I’ve had a couple of annoying mesquite branches that really hinder my mowing path. Put that all together and I had a fun, if not strenuous afternoon project (for two days.)
Firefly habitat – a truncated pyramid
The following is directly from the aforementioned link:
The classic shape is a truncated pyramid — a square or rectangular log-cabin-style stack that slopes inward as it rises, leaving an open square at the top. You can also experiment with pentagons, hexagons, octagons, or a simple triangle that tapers to a point. These shelters are meant to be more visually pleasing than a random brush pile, and creativity is part of what makes them work as a feature in your landscape.
A few guidelines:
Size: Anywhere from 2 feet to 5 feet wide at the base.
Log diameter: 2 to 6 inches works well. Put the largest logs at the bottom and taper to smaller ones at the top.
Wood choice: Use softer woods that break down over time. Avoid dense hardwood species that resist decay. Logs with insect holes, peeling bark, or layered crevices are ideal — those small spaces are exactly what larvae use to hide.
Leave gaps: Don’t pack the logs tightly. Space between timbers lets moisture in, lets plants grow through, and lets fireflies move freely.
Top opening: Leave the top open and consider laying a few loose sticks across the opening. These give adult fireflies a perch to fly from and a way to climb up out of the shelter.
Cross-bracing: A few sticks crossing the structure add stability. Nails or screws aren’t necessary but are fine if you want a more permanent build.
Center access to soil: Make sure the ground inside the shelter is exposed soil and leaf litter — not grass or mulch. If you’re building on lawn, pull the grass first. You can sprinkle damp soil and leaf litter in the center to jumpstart it.
A truncated pyramid constructed for a firefly habitat at the edge of a resaca. (Photo by Anita Westervelt) 
The second habitat was on a slope. I shored the bottom logs with chunks of construction debris. Enough logs were left to build a small triangle shaped pyramid. I put a five-gallon bucket full of loose soil and fallen ash tree leaves in each pyramid and wet them all down with resaca water. A task that will be repeated frequently. (Photo by Anita Westervelt) 
The squirrels and Great Tailed Grackles have found something new to play on. (Photo by Anita Westervelt)
Where to place it
Install your Firefly Larvae Shelter along the edges of creeks, rivers, ponds, or tree lines — anywhere you’re trying to build firefly habitat and there’s a shortage of hiding places. Tuck it somewhere out of the way of foot traffic so it won’t be disturbed. Plant native grasses, forbs, or shrubs around it to integrate it into the surrounding habitat and help retain moisture.
- 30 -
