This Green-Flashing Firefly Could Become the First Ever Listed as Endangered in the U.S.

Along the shores of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, a firefly flickers with two distinct green flashes. First discovered in 1949 and named for a Delaware coastal town, the Bethany Beach firefly is a beetle endemic to the mid-Atlantic area that emerges every June and July. But as the firefly’s population dwindles, sea-level rise and coastal development may further endanger this rare insect.

Now, a new proposal from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Monday aims to list the Bethany Beach firefly as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. With this status, the insect would receive additional protections, granting greater conservation focus to its habitat. The action marks the first time a firefly has been considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

“Protecting Bethany Beach fireflies under the Endangered Species Act would be a tremendous step toward ensuring these little creatures don’t blink out,” Jess Tyler, a scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, says in a statement.

Bethany Beach fireflies live in low-lying, freshwater marsh areas near coastal dunes, called swales, that provide them with shelter and food. They face many existing and emerging threats such as light pollution, habitat degradation and flooding. Climate models predict between 76 to 95 percent of swales could be lost to flooding by 2100, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and storm surges from intensifying weather could also put the firefly’s habitat underwater.

Listing the firefly would bring attention and resources to its plight. “We’ll hopefully have expanded partnerships to help improve abundance and quality of their habitat, while trying to figure out how we’re going to deal with sea-level rise,” says Julie Slacum, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to WHYY’s Zoë Read.

With many insect populations shrinking, the decline in fireflies has been called part of the “insect apocalypse.” About 40 percent of insect species are in decline, and in North America alone, one in three firefly species may be at risk of extinction, according to an analysis of data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

In 2019, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation asked for the Bethany Beach firefly to be federally protected. Since then, a prominent, known habitat site for the insect was lost to rapid coastal development, and the firefly has declined further.

Following the 2019 petition, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control carried out surveys for this species and found additional sites important to its survival. Now, scientists have a list of 35 swales across Delaware, Maryland and Virginia where the firefly lives.

Besides habitat destruction, another threat for fireflies and many other insects is the constant glowing and blinking of street lamps, porch lights and other artificial lighting. This has led to an excessive brightening of the night sky called sky glow, and it can disrupt fireflies, which use their own lanterns to communicate or find mates.

“There are lots of sources of lights out there,” says Jason Davis, a biologist with the state of Delaware who was part of the habitat surveys, to the Washington Post’s Dino Grandoni. “When you’re a firefly and things are blinking, that’s very reminiscent of what the fireflies are doing.”

“Even when you’re the surveyor, it can be distracting,” Davis adds.

Alongside the proposal, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is asking for people who have seen the Bethany Beach firefly to contact its Chesapeake Bay field office with information. This way, the agency can “better understand the species’ range and habitat needs.” Public comments on the proposal will be accepted through December 2.

The public can empathize with fireflies, Slacum tells WHYY, as the insects may hold sentimental value to people who remember catching them during their childhoods.

“This firefly is only known from the Atlantic coast. So many people probably haven’t seen it, but I think they can relate to the ones that they see in their backyard and just the awareness that these insects are experiencing threats like a lot of our other species,” she adds to the publication.

The Bethany Beach firefly isn’t the only one that has been targeted for protection. The Xerces Society has also asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect four other firefly species, according to the Washington Post.

For now, this recent proposal “could go a long way in protecting the Bethany Beach firefly’s habitat from a variety of threats,” Richard Joyce, a biologist with the Xerces Society, tells the Washington Post.

“The Bethany Beach firefly is a striking example of how magical insects can be, as well as how precious and unique our coastal wetlands are,” Joyce adds in a statement from the Xerces Society. “If we can protect this firefly, it will also protect this rare habitat and the creatures within it—a natural beauty that can’t be replicated anywhere else.”

Alexa Robles-Gil | | READ MORE

Alexa Robles-Gil is a bilingual science journalist based in New York City. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, Undark, Inside Climate News and more.