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Bees aren't the only insects that are in danger; they are disappearing and this can be very dangerous for our ecosystem

Have you ever noticed that, as a child, finding fireflies around was much more frequent than nowadays? Scientists have noticed the progressive disappearance of these insects and warn of the dangers that this represents. In 2014, the newspaper The New York Times was one of the first vehicles to publish an article on the subject, based on the Selangor Declaration about firefly conservation.

"Fireflies are indicators of environmental health and are disappearing from the world as a result of the damage and degradation of their habitat, river pollution, increased use of pesticides in agroecosystems and increased light pollution in areas of human habitation", from according to Selangor Declaration.

Brazilian Alessandro Barghini, author of the book Before Fireflies Disappear or the Influence of Artificial Lighting on the Environment, agrees that artificial lighting plays an important role in the drop in the number of fireflies in our ecosystem. “Lighting is responsible for generating astronomical pollution and excess carbon dioxide emitted through the production of electricity, but its impact on biodiversity is much greater.”, says the author. Learn more about light pollution.

The reason artificial lighting in big cities so directly affects these peculiar insects is because the female uses her light to attract the male, but only when the ambient light is lower than that of a full moon. With the excess of light that we produce, the female almost never finds the ideal conditions and the future of the species is threatened.

Knowing this, the American portal treehugger separated four simple ways to reduce our environmental impact and prevent the disappearance of fireflies definitively:

• Avoid the use of chemical pesticides;
• Do not eliminate worms, snails and slugs - this way firefly larvae can feed;
• Turn off lights whenever possible;
• Provide grass, foliage and shrubs, which are good environments for fireflies.