My little girl, husband, and I enjoyed catching fireflies together the other night. We would race to see who could catch one first and put it in a fruit jar to see many of them light up together before we released them back into the night. I grew up racing my brother to see who could catch fireflies first and now enjoy my daughter laughing as she chases them.
Unfortunately, fireflies are disappearing all over the world, according to an article on fireflies.org. Scientists are not sure of the reason for their disappearing, but researchers blame land development and light pollution. Most species of fireflies live in rotten wood and near ponds and water. They tend to remain in the area where they are born.
The problem is our open fields and forests are being developed and paved over. As their habitat disappears, firefly numbers dwindle. Light pollution is believed to interrupt firefly flash patterns. Scientists believe the flash of fireflies get out of sync with car, home, and streetlights. This makes it difficult for fireflies to signal each other during mating, contributing to fewer fireflies the next season.
We may think that the fireflies’ only purpose is to entertain us during the summer season. However, according to scientists, fireflies can save lives. Luciferase and luciferin are chemicals fireflies use to produce their light. This is used in research for the study of cancer, diabetes, allergies, gastric inflammation, and other harmful diseases in humans.
As we have learned from research, even the little firefly is beneficial for human life. It is believed that the reduction of habitat and increased lighting may be making fireflies rarer. Fireflies bring light and sense of magic to our summer night. Our summer nights would be a little darker without the magic of the lightning bug.
I mistyped the recipe from last week, so please see the corrected recipe below.
Pineapple Lemonade
1 cup Country Time Lemonade mix
3 cups cold water
1 46 oz can of chilled pineapple juice
2 cans of Sprite
Mix all together and enjoy.
Submitted by: Judy Long, Gordonsville FCE Club
