Firefly Extinction Imminent

a reply to: TheRedneck

Similar, my "fighting weight" was 175 before chemo and stuff. Stuck at 160 now.

Come on down, let's go flyin!

If you want to help support fireflies, plant some lilac bushes in your yard.
That is where they like to hang out.

a reply to: Phage

A tempting offer... perhaps one day soon I can afford to travel again.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

You can drive to Grandfather Mountain, NC. There are pros there.

a reply to: Phage

Its hard to stop extinction with the attitude you have. If we dont do something the ecological system that supports us will collapse.

I wonder where that will leave us.

I specialis in habitat restoration. If can be done. Sometimes. If you want to make a difference. Plant flowers. As many as you can.

a reply to: purplemer

It's not my attitude, actually.
I do care but it seems too many don't. Especially those who have the power to do something. Especially, lately.

a reply to: Phage

Good to hear thanks for that.

I dont know how much of a difference we can make but to me trying is important.

a reply to: purplemer

If we dont do something the ecological system that supports us will collapse.

If I had a nickel for every time someone said that to me just before they screwed up the ecosystem in some way, I would be able to travel now.

Not saying you are definitely one of the "environmentalists" that obtain joy in scrambling nature, just saying it like it is. The more we do, the worse off we are. The less we do, the better off everything is. Leave nature alone and let it do what it does best.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

Do you think offshore drilling for oil is leaving nature alone, for example?
Mountaintopping for coal?

a reply to: TheRedneck

A million species face extinction.

a reply to: purplemer

The obvious retort is that many millions of species went extinct before humans existed. The same logic is used with climate change.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Artesia

The first, and only firefly I've ever seen was on a trip to Washington DC in 2006. It was also my daughter's first and only, she was 4. She doesn't remember, I'll never forget.

A bit of beauty and wonder gone. Who cares? There are a lot of things going away. Who cares about bugs? And fish. And animals. It's too hard to stop.
extinction

I took my boy camping to a place near here called the border ranges just a couple of months ago , I saw fireflies for the first time ,I was amazed, the boy was also but I suspect only because of my enthusiasm.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: purplemer

The obvious retort is that many millions of species went extinct before humans existed. The same logic is used with climate change.

The thing is we can do something about it if we choose to and I choose to try. We need to look at regenerative culture. We need to actually give back. I know in my direct surrounding I have made a difference. I can see it and here it. BUt we need to go much further. Life has an intrinsic value to itself. Not just to us as a resource. That needs to be seen and reconsigned.

When genocide occurs people are up in arms and rightly so. Its a shame the same does not happen with the present ecocide.

a reply to: Phage

A bit of beauty and wonder gone. Who cares? There are a lot of things going away. Who cares about bugs? And fish. And animals. It's too hard to stop.

Most of humanity doesn’t it would seem, we could do things differently but it’s to inconvenient and expensive so screw nature.

If you want fireflies, then you have to have garden snails.

For every firefly you see, there is a dead garden snail, the glow worm larva eat snails.

So, encourage snails and you'll have fireflies, pretty simple.

Edit to add: When I worked at the local campground, I'd ride a bicycle to work (about 6 miles). When I rode home at night, the first season I didn't have a headlight on my bike, but the fireflies were so plentiful along the road side, I could avoid riding into the ditch. I've haven't paid a lot of attention to fireflies lately, but will this year.

a reply to: TheRedneck

OK, that explains why we tend to have things like fireflies and sweat bees in our yard. The only bummer are the sweat bees. Husband sweats like a pig and he's developed an allergy to them almost like a bee. When he mows, he has to be super careful because they mob him and get pinched and sting. Then we have all kinds of issues with hives and stuff.

We only use weed killer on the poison ivy ... but usually only after our son beats us to finding it every spring.

a reply to: purplemer

A million species face extinction.

So?

I mean, really, so what are you going to do?

"OMG! Bambi can't find sunshine to frolic in because it's raining! OUTLAW RAIN! NOW!"

Get OFF your high horse. Species go extinct. That's just how nature works. Other species will fill in the gaps. Stop trying to micromanage that which you don't understand before you screw it up for everyone else. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, but that one seriously, completely, absolutely STOOPID statement tells me I was being far too generous. Nature does not need your help; nature does not want your help. That help you seem so intent on providing isn't for nature anyway... you're trying to help YOU. You want the ecosystem to behave the way YOU want. Get a grip! It just don't work like that.

TheRedneck

a reply to: Phage

Do you think offshore drilling for oil is leaving nature alone, for example?
Mountaintopping for coal?

Nope.

But there is a place just a few miles from me, where my great uncle used to live. It's an abandoned coal strip mine. I used to hunt there (before I figured out there was a better way to get meat). The mining stripped the entire top off the area; it was a horrible scar across the land. A couple of decades later, though, the pits left behind had eroded and turned into lakes. The trees had returned, and some were pretty large. The undergrowth had become so thick in places, it formed natural barriers that even the deer were forced to avoid. I saw deer en masse, a bobcat, a black bear, coons, possums, birds, rabbits, foxes... all the same wildlife I see here in a mountain almost completely untouched for at least a century.

The coal mine certainly did NOT leave nature alone, but once they left and did leave it alone, it recovered. That's what nature does. It recovers. If... and only if... we leave it alone and let it.

TheRedneck

My neighborhood is paradise if you enjoy nature. Thousands of deer (we are at the beginning of the annual birth of the fawns, which is just about as cute as any thing you've seen). Racoons, possums, some foxes....there's even a small population of guinea fowl that has been extant since the 50's.

There is no shortage of fireflies. About 20 mins before dusk they emerge from the lawns and twinkle around. Its only in the spring for a few months, with them becoming fewer and fewer as summer comes around and things get drier.

My favorite animal is the painted bunting. A gorgeous tropical colored bird that is always a treat to see.

a reply to: ketsuko

Oh, I used to hate the sweat bees! They never stung anyone until they were slapped away, then... oh, crap! The little things HURT.

Here's the trick, though: if it's the same kind of tiny little bee that we call sweat bees here, they only sting when you slap them. So when you slap at something that landed on your arm, instead of simply slamming your hand down on it to kill it, hit it with a glancing blow. That rolls the little bugger up as it tries to sting and keeps the stinger from making contact with the skin. Dead sweat bee and no pain.

Watch old timers sometimes swatting at bees. I'll bet they do it with a sideways motion... that's because they don't like being stung by sweat bees and figured out how to not get stung. It's second nature to me.

TheRedneck