Lights out: can we stop #glowWorms and #fireflies fading away?
From night walks with children to switching off streetlights and #rewilding areas, naturalists are working to save Europe’s dwindling populations

By Natasha Frost. Photographs by Matteo Del Vecchio and Sara Venditti

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/07/conservation-endangered-insects-glow-worms-firefies-europe-dwindling-populations

#science #ecology #bioluminescence #insects #conservation #extinction

"I wanted to believe that I would see him again before he died, but I knew that probably wasn’t going to happen, and this made the solitary ride down in the elevator a sad and singular journey. You get what you get, I told myself. I had got so much. I had not got enough." —Ann Patchett for The New Yorker

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/06/glowworms

#Friendship #Death #Glowworms #NewZealand #AnnPatchett

These elusive #insects glow electric blue—and are only found in Appalachia https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/appalachian-glowworms-blue-bioluminescence

"the larval form of a fungus gnat O. fultoni, they produce the bluest #bioluminescence of any #insect... translucent, around 11 mm in length, with lanterns at both ends, they produce gauzy webs, and it has been theorized that their light is intended to lure flying insects. When #glowworms are concentrated, they turn roadsides and riverbanks into brilliant blue rivers that sparkle after sunset"