When I look back on my childhood in Nawalparasi, I remember evenings that were warm, quiet, and full of small glowing lights. After dinner, my siblings and I used to go outside and play in the fields. The fireflies would flicker softly around us. We called them Junkiri. We tried to catch them in our hands, but we always let them go again. The nights felt peaceful and full of a kind of gentle magic. At that time, I didn’t realize how special those moments were. Now, living in France, I rarely see fireflies anymore. The nights here are bright with streetlights, headlights, and buildings. Their absence made me understand how much the world has changed.
What Are Fireflies?
Fireflies, also called lightning bugs, are actually beetles, not flies. They belong to the family Lampyridae. There are more than 2,000 species around the world, mostly in warm and humid areas. Adult fireflies often feed on plant nectar or nothing at all, while the young firefly larvae eat worms, snails, and small insects in the soil. Fireflies produce light through a natural process called bioluminescence. Inside the lower part of their body, a chemical called luciferin reacts with oxygen, helped by an enzyme named luciferase. This reaction creates a gentle glow without heat. This light is essential for fireflies because they use it to send signals and find each other in the dark. Each firefly species has its own flash pattern, which they use to communicate, especially when finding a mate at night. Their light can be yellow, green, or orange depending on the species.
Why Are Fireflies Disappearing?
As I grew older, I began to understand that fireflies are not disappearing by accident. They are sensitive insects, and even small changes in their surroundings can affect them. The world around us is changing, and the places that once supported them are changing too.
1. Light Pollution
Fireflies communicate by flashing their lights. It’s their way of signaling to each other. But today, our nights are no longer dark. Streetlights, vehicles, billboards, and house lights keep shining even when the world should be resting (Owens & Lewis, 2018). When the night becomes too bright, fireflies simply cannot see each other’s signals. Many males and females never find each other, and fewer new fireflies are born each year.
2. Habitat Loss
Fireflies usually live in places that are a little wild, like rice fields, tall grasses, wet areas, forests, or near streams. These places give them soft soil for their eggs, moisture for their larvae, and natural darkness at night. But many of these spaces are slowly disappearing. Land is being cleared for buildings, roads, and farming, and the remaining green areas are often cut short, cleaned, or lit at night. When the environment becomes too controlled or disturbed, fireflies lose the conditions they need to survive (IUCN Firefly Specialist Group, 2021).
3. Pesticides and Chemicals
The early stage of a firefly’s life happens underground. The larvae live in the soil and feed on small insects, snails, and worms. But when pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used, these substances enter the soil and water. This can harm the larvae directly, or it can kill the small creatures they depend on for food. If the young fireflies cannot survive in the soil, there will be fewer glowing adults later (Fu et al., 2019).
4. Changes in Weather and Seasons
Fireflies need warm, humid environments, and their life cycle depends on seasonal timing. But climate patterns are shifting. Some years are too dry, some have heavy rain, and sometimes the warm season comes earlier or later than before. These changes can disrupt when fireflies mate, lay eggs, or emerge from the soil. When the weather becomes unpredictable, their survival becomes more difficult (Lewis et al., 2021).
Nepal and France: Two Different Nights
When I think of fireflies, I remember the nights in Nawalparasi. The evenings were warm and open, and the fields were dark enough to see the sky clearly. There were fewer streetlights back then, and the darkness felt natural. In that darkness, fireflies could be seen glowing everywhere. They weren’t rare; they were just part of the night.
France feels different. Even small towns have many lights at night. Streetlights line the roads, buildings are lit, and outdoor areas stay bright for safety and convenience. The sky here never feels fully dark. The surroundings are tidier, cleaner, and more controlled, but sometimes too controlled for insects that rely on wildness and darkness to survive.
Studies on light pollution show that around 88% of people in France live under skies brighter than natural night conditions, while in Nepal this is closer to 39%. This difference means Nepal still has more places where the night remains naturally dark and where fireflies can still communicate and survive (Falchi et al., 2016).
This comparison made me realize that fireflies are not just disappearing because of biology — they are disappearing because we are slowly changing the night itself.
Conclusion
Sometimes I really think about what will happen if things keep going the way they are. If the nights get brighter and the land becomes more controlled, will fireflies slowly disappear for good? We already know many animals are gone from the earth. Dinosaurs are something we only learn about in books now — something that existed, but we will never see. I don’t want fireflies to become another story like that. I don’t want to tell future children, “Once, there were small insects that glowed in the dark.”
Maybe there is still time to do something small. I know I can’t change everything. But I can start with something small, close to home. Maybe I’ll just leave one little part of the yard as it is, without cutting or cleaning it too much. And maybe sometimes I’ll turn off the outside lights, just to let the night be dark again. I want to try it quietly first, in my own way, and see what it brings. Maybe we can avoid chemicals when possible. Fireflies are small, but the feeling they bring is meaningful. Their light is part of our memories of childhood, of home, of quiet nights where nature felt close.
