Lights Out for Lightning Bugs 2024

 

Lights Out For Lightning Bugs: Starting June 1 through the month of June, you can do your part to help protect and conserve the fireflies in your backyard. The decline of fireflies worldwide is due to many reasons all of which are results of human causes. The most obvious cause is light pollution. The lights interfere with the mating behaviors of fireflies. Fireflies lighting displays are how they find mates, and if artificial light is shining, they can't compete or see their mates.
We can help by simply turning off outdoor lighting during the mating season, which in our area is mostly the month of June. If you can't turn off your lights completely, consider shading them so they are focused to a smaller area on the ground, or use a timer or motion detectors to reduce the amount of time the lights are on at night.
Reducing or eliminating lighting also helps other nocturnal insects and others species of birds, reptiles and mammals. Humans also benefit from darkness by improving natural circadian rhythms and other health benefits. If we reduce our lighting, we will see reduction in energy costs too.
So we hope you will join us in the Lights Out For Lightning Bugs this June. Go outside and watch for fireflies and enjoy the dark skies in your favorite park or backyard. Scan the QR code in the poster or go to our website to find out more

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to our firefly friends and followers! We are looking forward to the 2024 PAFF events. The 12th Annual PA Firefly Festival will be held on Friday, June 28 and Saturday, June 29. The Glow and Know Campouts are scheduled for Saturday, June 22 and Tuesday, June 25.

Once again in an effort to manage the demand to see the fireflies and protect our local habitats, all of the PAFF event registrations are available only through a lottery. The lottery entry application is FREE. Go to this link to complete your application for as many events that you want to be entered. You may enter multiple events, but only enter one time per event. The applications will be available until the drawing takes place on March 31, 2024. Be sure to visit pafireflyevents.org for more information and details.

Lights Out For Lightning Bugs

Once again, PA Firefly Festival and its partners are promoting a public awareness campaign to reduce and eliminate light pollution across Pennsylvania.  We know that Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) has detrimental effects on the mating of fireflies.  Competing light in the environment interferes with the fireflies' ability to see each other's flashes and be able to find each other to mate.   If they can't mate, then the future generations are lost. 

Anyone can participate in "Lights Out" by simply turning off the outdoor lights or shielding them from shining into the sensitive habitats in your yard.  Try installing motion detectors and timers (if you have security concerns) to at least decrease the impacts.   If you do it for one week, you may find you can do it all summer.  You will be helping not only fireflies, but other nocturnal creatures like moths, bats, turtles and birds. 

Human beings have also been impacted by ALAN, and you will do yourself a favor by allowing yourself to experience darkness.  One night this summer, go outside, sit and enjoy some darkness away from the lights of the city.  You may be surprised at how fast your eyes can adjust and what you will be able to see.  It just may be an extraordinary natural light show of fireflies or the Milky Way.

Winners of the 2023 Glamping with Fireflies Raffle

Two Grand Prize winners were drawn on Saturday, May 27, Keun An and Jennifer Mulcahy were the lucky winners.  They have chosen their prize. One has chosen a night of "Glamping" with fireflies, while the other has chosen the $300 cash prize.  The raffle surpassed our goal of $3000.  The proceeds will benefit our Firefly Educational Programs and help to support students and faculty studying fireflies in our area and around the world.  Thank you to all of those who purchased a chance.  We hope to continue to offer this next year.

The Lottery is CLOSED

 The 2023 Lottery entry period is now CLOSED.  We had over 1500 applications.  Thank you to everyone who entered.  Congratulations to those whose names have been selected for the 130 available spots at the 2023 PA Firefly Events. 

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If your name has been chosen to attend an event you selected, you will be notified by email on Sunday, April 2.  You will receive a link and a code to the ticketing website, so you can register for the event of your choice within 48 hours of that notification.  Only adults need to be registered for the events.  Children 5 to 11 years old are FREE and do not need to be registered.  These events are not intended for children under 5-yo.  If you choose to not register for an event you entered or miss the deadline (April 4, 2023), your space will open to the next person in the queue.  So if you aren't notified on Sunday, you may still be in the queue.  Those notified after April 4, or subsequent dates, will also have 48 hours in which to register, and the queue will remain active until all spaces have been claimed.  We will then announce when all the spots have been claimed.

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Stay tuned for announcements about other Private Firefly Tour opportunities and the "Glamping Raffle".  These will be announced once the registration for the events has concluded.

 

Thank you again to all who entered.  We sincerely believe a “lottery” system for registration is the fairest and most equitable solution.  It is PAFF’s mission to educate the public about the fireflies of Pennsylvania in order to protect and preserve the fireflies for future generations.  So, we hope you will appreciate this effort as we strive to provide the most responsible and sustainable firefly tourism programs.