Lightning bugs!

If you are old enough to have been a kid in the 50s and 60s. you will remember the joy of romping in the yard in the early evening, right before and after the sun went down. We would chase the lightning bugs and catch them in jars in which we had poked holes in the tops. Then, we would keep them by our beds, fascinated by their blinking lights all night. Unfortunately, by morning, most of them would be dead. The lucky ones who had survived would be released outside.
These days, there are not as many lightning bugs around, although this year, in this area, they have had a resurgence. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/11/AR2009071100443.html?sid=ST2009071103102
But, as with many innocuous but helpful creatures, humans conspire against them.
As a committment to my role as a Habitat Steward, I do not use chemicals in my yard - neither pesticides nor herbicides. I am rewarded with fireflies, as well as pollinators and many "good bugs" (more than 90% of bugs are "good bugs".) Michael Raupp, a very esteemed entomologist from the University of Maryland has a wonderful website which talks about bugs http://www.raupplab.umd.edu/ and really helps people to understand that bugs are not our enemies, but our friends, and that we must learn how to be AT HOME WITH NATURE.
Insects are an important part of the ecological balance. As I said before, 90% of insects are in the category of beneficial (meaning they help to eliminate "bad" bugs, or neutral - they do no harm.) As a Master Gardener, I often meet people who want to eliminate insects who may be doing only minor damage to their plants. The first thing to look at is how much damage you can tolerate. Perhaps we should look at how much damage your PLANTS can tolerate. Plants are survivors. Look at weeds. They want to survive. They will find ways to propagate themselves. We can let them do that. We can hand-pull them from our flower beds.
So, let's think about the joy of lightning bugs. Let's help to keep them going!