According to a new review paper, published March 11 in the journal Conservation Science and Practice, tourism is potentially imperiling some local firefly populations.
factors like habitat loss, light pollution, and insecticides might all be threatening population numbers. In some instances, their popularity might also contribute.
There are over two thousand known firefly species, and lots of different firefly lifestyles—some flash synchronously in mangrove trees, while others hover close to the leaf litter in forests. Tourists’ flashlights can confuse fireflies as they try to communicate through their own flashes, and insect repellant can also be disruptive, since “a lot of fireflies rely not just on light, but chemical cues to find their mates,” Lewis explains.
In firefly-watching sites across several states in Mexico, the situation is very complicated, says coauthor Tania López-Palafox, a PhD student in evolutionary biology at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. The endemic firefly species Photinus palaciosi has only been known to scientists since 2012, and now, in the small municipality of Nanacamilpa, “this species attracts more than 120,000 people, so it’s really increasing dramatically,” she says.
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