Canadian summers can be short but a warm humid night with fireflies lighting up the dark is the perfect opportunity for interactive fun with our grandchildren. I looked into how to catch fireflies and here is what you need to know.
To catch fireflies, use a flashlight to attract them, use a net to catch them and put them in a clear glass jar with holes in the lid to let the air in.
According to Firefly.org
, to catch fireflies, you need:
- A clear jar with a lid with holes poked through
- A butterfly net
- A flashlight with a blue plastic disc or a blue piece of paper
A Clear Jar With A Lid With Holes Poked Through
The first thing to do is prepare the container for the fireflies.
A clear jar is the most popular choice. Ensure the
lid of the jar has holes poked in the top. Sciencing.com suggests that a mesh container
will work too. The point is to allow for airflow.
Put a handful of grass at the bottom of the container to emulate the kind of environment fireflies like to live in. Some suggest adding a
piece of apple to give the fireflies as nectar is part of the adult diet.
Butterfly Net
A butterfly net from the dollarstore will suffice. Alternatively you can make your own. Simply take a wire coat hanger and reshape it into a hoop shape. Tape it to a piece of wood liek a stick or a broken hockey stick. Attach netting to the hoop shaped like a bag with enough room to catch the fireflies and insert the jar.
A Flashlight
The reason you need a flashlight is to attract the fireflies. The best type of flashlight is the LED rather than battery-powered ones. Firefly.org reports that scientists who study fireflies have more success with the LED.
Another tip from scientists is to place a blue plastic disc or piece of paper over your flashlight to turn the light blue. They believe fireflies don’t interpret blue light the same way they see other colors, so the light won’t disorient their flash patterns. I would use blue tissue paper so the light comes though easily.
How To Catch Fireflies
To catch fireflies, first you have to attract them. Fireflies flash light to communicate so the trick is to emulate the flashing of the fireflies. There are two ways to do this – either simply shine the flashlight directly up and down or watch them carefully and flash the light as the fireflies flash. Note – don’t flash the light right at them. That can scare them away.
To catch fireflies, work in pairs moving slowly gently so you don’t scare them. One person can use the net and the other can hold the jar. When the fireflies are in the net, slowly move the jar into the net and let the fireflies fly into the jar. Put the lid on the jar.
Some instructions suggest you don’t need a net, just let the fireflies fly into the jar. Firefly.org warns against catching fireflies in your hands because there is a chance of accidently hurting them.
Why Do Fireflies Light Up?
Fireflies are not flies that light up. They
are actually a beetle. There are
approximately 29 species across Canada. Fireflies have dedicated light
organ called a photophore where the light is produced. It contains two chemicals called luciferin and luciferase. Those chemicals when mixed with oxygen, magnesium and ATP that produces energy making fireflies glow, hence their name. Click the photo for video explaining how the fireflies light up. It has english subtitles.
Fun fact: Fireflies are the most efficient producers of light in the world. An incandescent bulb emits 90% of its energy as heat and only 10% as light, fireflies glow without producing any heat energy.
Let Them Go
At the end of the evening, release the fireflies back into nature. The Canadian Wildlife Federation reports that researchers believe that fireflies are declining due to habitat loss, pesticide use and possibly light pollution. Respect the environment and let nature live its course.
Let all the fireflies go at one time and you could create your own fireflies light festival.
Fun fact: In Japan, firefly festivals draw tourists to watch the gallery of lights at night every year.
Best Place To Catch Fireflies
According to Canadian Wildlife Foundation, fireflies are found in the warmer regions of Canada with their habitat wetlands and wet areas. They like open areas with surrounding habitat of trees and tall grass such as meadows, gardens and small fields. They can be often found near any of Canada’s lakes and rivers.
Because fireflies like warm humid weather, gardens, trees they may even be in your backyard or by a creek or trees in the park or in campgrounds.
If you are doing this in your backyard, turn off the exterior lights of the house. If you are doing this away from your home make sure the headlights of your car are off. The extra light confuses the fireflies and makes them less responsive.
When Is The Best Time To Watch For Fireflies
June July and August are the best times to watch for fireflies but it really depends on where you live.
Start watching for fireflies sometime after the third week in May. It really depends on the weather as fireflies like warmth, humidity and the dark the most. That is why warm summer nights are the best.
The evening is the best time to watch for fireflies because during the day, they like to hide in tall grass and shrubs. They use their light communicate in the dark.
No fireflies? Create fun with a Chasing Fireflies game.
The Chasing Fireflies game is interactive with players taking turns to hide and find colourful gently flashing light–up bugs. It is suitable for ages 3 and up. It is considered one of the 20 Awesome Board Games You May Never Have Heard Of by The Guardian, the British media outlet.
Each box comes with two 5 inch plastic jars and ten 2¾ inch fireflies – five blue and five green. Each firefly takes three AG 13 batteries that are included.
There are lots of variations of the game all adaptable to how many grandchildren you are playing with and how old they are. You can make it co-operative play for young grandchildren or more competitive between two teams for the older ones. Another benefit is that you can play this in the day or inside on a rainy day.
The grandchildren will love being active and won’t even notice it is good for building teamwork skills and building their self-esteem as they find the hidden fireflies.
It is created by a Canadian business – JR Toy Company.
The Canadian Mint Honours The Firefly
The Canadian Mint honours the firefly with a coin that actually glows in the dark!
Crafted from 99.99% pure silver, the coin displays two fireflies in their natural habitat near water in a warm environment much like a camping or cottage setting. Canadian artist Ervin Molnar created the image.
Flip it over and the firefly glows. The Canadian Mint has recreated its glow using photo-luminescent technology that is activated when the coin is placed
in light source for 30 –60 seconds then moved into the darkness (turn the lights out). The Mint says, “you will view the elements as though you were approaching the lakeside campsite in the image, where the only sources of light are the full moon and the campfire that reflect on the water’s surface.”