Fireflies, Image by Getty Images, CC0 Unsplash

Welcome fireflies to your yard for a magical light show.

In addition, they are beneficial predators during their their larval stage eating snails, slugs, and other insect larvae.

Fireflies are are actually beetles.

Use these tips to create a firefly oasis in your yard.

Tips

• Leave a natural area with leaf litter and vegetation, and avoid walking there.
• Turn off all artificial sources of light: Street lights, floodlights, porch lights, pool lights, landscaping lights, and car lights. Artificial light disrupts firefly communication.
• Provide water in a garden fountain or a water garden. (unless you are near a stream or a pond). Some species of firefly live in the water in their larval stage. Others use water as their hunting grounds.
• Include native grasses, shrubs and trees. Common milkweed, (Asclepias syriaca) is a great food source.
• Avoid chemicals: Chlorine, insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers

Additional information from:

• The Firefly Atlas, Conservation guidance
• The University of Florida
• The Xerces Society