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This Green-Flashing Firefly Could Become the First Ever Listed as Endangered in the U.S.

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Tuesday, October 1, 2024

A biologist holds a Bethany Beach firefly, found on a survey in 2019. The dwindling species is now being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Kayt Jonsson / USFWS Along the shores of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, a firefly flickers with two distinct green flashes. First discovered in 1949 and named for a Delaware coastal town, the Bethany Beach firefly is a beetle endemic to the mid-Atlantic area that emerges every June and July. But as the firefly’s population dwindles, sea-level rise and coastal development may further endanger this rare insect. Now, a new proposal from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Monday aims to list the Bethany Beach firefly as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. With this status, the insect would receive additional protections, granting greater conservation focus to its habitat. The action marks the first time a firefly has been considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act. “Protecting Bethany Beach fireflies under the Endangered Species Act would be a tremendous step toward ensuring these little creatures don’t blink out,” Jess Tyler, a scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, says in a statement. Bethany Beach fireflies live in low-lying, freshwater marsh areas near coastal dunes, called swales, that provide them with shelter and food. They face many existing and emerging threats such as light pollution, habitat degradation and flooding. Climate models predict between 76 to 95 percent of swales could be lost to flooding by 2100, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and storm surges from intensifying weather could also put the firefly’s habitat underwater. Listing the firefly would bring attention and resources to its plight. “We’ll hopefully have expanded partnerships to help improve abundance and quality of their habitat, while trying to figure out how we’re going to deal with sea-level rise,” says Julie Slacum, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to WHYY’s Zoë Read. The Bethany Beach firefly is identifiable by a black marking on its head and its distinctive double flash, which emits green light. Kayt Jonsson / USFWS With many insect populations shrinking, the decline in fireflies has been called part of the “insect apocalypse.” About 40 percent of insect species are in decline, and in North America alone, one in three firefly species may be at risk of extinction, according to an analysis of data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In 2019, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation asked for the Bethany Beach firefly to be federally protected. Since then, a prominent, known habitat site for the insect was lost to rapid coastal development, and the firefly has declined further. Following the 2019 petition, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control carried out surveys for this species and found additional sites important to its survival. Now, scientists have a list of 35 swales across Delaware, Maryland and Virginia where the firefly lives. Besides habitat destruction, another threat for fireflies and many other insects is the constant glowing and blinking of street lamps, porch lights and other artificial lighting. This has led to an excessive brightening of the night sky called sky glow, and it can disrupt fireflies, which use their own lanterns to communicate or find mates. “There are lots of sources of lights out there,” says Jason Davis, a biologist with the state of Delaware who was part of the habitat surveys, to the Washington Post’s Dino Grandoni. “When you’re a firefly and things are blinking, that’s very reminiscent of what the fireflies are doing.” “Even when you’re the surveyor, it can be distracting,” Davis adds. Alongside the proposal, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is asking for people who have seen the Bethany Beach firefly to contact its Chesapeake Bay field office with information. This way, the agency can “better understand the species’ range and habitat needs.” Public comments on the proposal will be accepted through December 2. Most fireflies are nocturnal and are typically seen twinkling after dusk. Shaunl via Getty Images The public can empathize with fireflies, Slacum tells WHYY, as the insects may hold sentimental value to people who remember catching them during their childhoods. “This firefly is only known from the Atlantic coast. So many people probably haven’t seen it, but I think they can relate to the ones that they see in their backyard and just the awareness that these insects are experiencing threats like a lot of our other species,” she adds to the publication. The Bethany Beach firefly isn’t the only one that has been targeted for protection. The Xerces Society has also asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect four other firefly species, according to the Washington Post. For now, this recent proposal “could go a long way in protecting the Bethany Beach firefly’s habitat from a variety of threats,” Richard Joyce, a biologist with the Xerces Society, tells the Washington Post. “The Bethany Beach firefly is a striking example of how magical insects can be, as well as how precious and unique our coastal wetlands are,” Joyce adds in a statement from the Xerces Society. “If we can protect this firefly, it will also protect this rare habitat and the creatures within it—a natural beauty that can’t be replicated anywhere else.” Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

The Fish and Wildlife Service will consider granting federal protections to the Bethany Beach firefly, which is rapidly losing its coastal habitat to development and climate change

a hand holds a single firefly between the thumb and index fingers — A biologist holds a Bethany Beach firefly, found on a survey in 2019. The dwindling species is now being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Kayt Jonsson / USFWS

Along the shores of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, a firefly flickers with two distinct green flashes. First discovered in 1949 and named for a Delaware coastal town, the Bethany Beach firefly is a beetle endemic to the mid-Atlantic area that emerges every June and July. But as the firefly’s population dwindles, sea-level rise and coastal development may further endanger this rare insect.

Now, a new proposal from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Monday aims to list the Bethany Beach firefly as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. With this status, the insect would receive additional protections, granting greater conservation focus to its habitat. The action marks the first time a firefly has been considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

“Protecting Bethany Beach fireflies under the Endangered Species Act would be a tremendous step toward ensuring these little creatures don’t blink out,” Jess Tyler, a scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, says in a statement.

Bethany Beach fireflies live in low-lying, freshwater marsh areas near coastal dunes, called swales, that provide them with shelter and food. They face many existing and emerging threats such as light pollution, habitat degradation and flooding. Climate models predict between 76 to 95 percent of swales could be lost to flooding by 2100, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and storm surges from intensifying weather could also put the firefly’s habitat underwater.

Listing the firefly would bring attention and resources to its plight. “We’ll hopefully have expanded partnerships to help improve abundance and quality of their habitat, while trying to figure out how we’re going to deal with sea-level rise,” says Julie Slacum, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to WHYY’s Zoë Read.

a firefly under a magnifying glass — The Bethany Beach firefly is identifiable by a black marking on its head and its distinctive double flash, which emits green light. Kayt Jonsson / USFWS

With many insect populations shrinking, the decline in fireflies has been called part of the “insect apocalypse.” About 40 percent of insect species are in decline, and in North America alone, one in three firefly species may be at risk of extinction, according to an analysis of data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

In 2019, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation asked for the Bethany Beach firefly to be federally protected. Since then, a prominent, known habitat site for the insect was lost to rapid coastal development, and the firefly has declined further.

Following the 2019 petition, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control carried out surveys for this species and found additional sites important to its survival. Now, scientists have a list of 35 swales across Delaware, Maryland and Virginia where the firefly lives.

Besides habitat destruction, another threat for fireflies and many other insects is the constant glowing and blinking of street lamps, porch lights and other artificial lighting. This has led to an excessive brightening of the night sky called sky glow, and it can disrupt fireflies, which use their own lanterns to communicate or find mates.

“There are lots of sources of lights out there,” says Jason Davis, a biologist with the state of Delaware who was part of the habitat surveys, to the Washington Post’s Dino Grandoni. “When you’re a firefly and things are blinking, that’s very reminiscent of what the fireflies are doing.”

“Even when you’re the surveyor, it can be distracting,” Davis adds.

Alongside the proposal, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is asking for people who have seen the Bethany Beach firefly to contact its Chesapeake Bay field office with information. This way, the agency can “better understand the species’ range and habitat needs.” Public comments on the proposal will be accepted through December 2.

Fireflies dance in twinkling lights in a marsh during "blue hour" — Most fireflies are nocturnal and are typically seen twinkling after dusk. Shaunl via Getty Images

The public can empathize with fireflies, Slacum tells WHYY, as the insects may hold sentimental value to people who remember catching them during their childhoods.

“This firefly is only known from the Atlantic coast. So many people probably haven’t seen it, but I think they can relate to the ones that they see in their backyard and just the awareness that these insects are experiencing threats like a lot of our other species,” she adds to the publication.

The Bethany Beach firefly isn’t the only one that has been targeted for protection. The Xerces Society has also asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect four other firefly species, according to the Washington Post.

For now, this recent proposal “could go a long way in protecting the Bethany Beach firefly’s habitat from a variety of threats,” Richard Joyce, a biologist with the Xerces Society, tells the Washington Post.

“The Bethany Beach firefly is a striking example of how magical insects can be, as well as how precious and unique our coastal wetlands are,” Joyce adds in a statement from the Xerces Society. “If we can protect this firefly, it will also protect this rare habitat and the creatures within it—a natural beauty that can’t be replicated anywhere else.”

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Park Service orders changes to staff ratings, a move experts call illegal

Lower performance ratings could be used as a factor in layoff decisions and will demoralize staff, advocates say.

A top National Park Service official has instructed park superintendents to limit the number of staff who get top marks in performance reviews, according to three people familiar with the matter, a move that experts say violates federal code and could make it easier to lay off staff.Parks leadership generally evaluate individual employees annually on a five-point scale, with a three rating given to those who are successful in achieving their goals, with those exceeding expectations receiving a four and outstanding employees earning a five.Frank Lands, the deputy director of operations for the National Park System, told dozens of park superintendents on a conference call Thursday that “the preponderance of ratings should be 3s,” according to the people familiar, who were not authorized to comment publicly about the internal call.Lands said that roughly one to five percent of people should receive an outstanding rating and confirmed several times that about 80 percent should receive 3s, the people familiar said.Follow Climate & environmentThe Interior Department, which oversees the National Park Service, said in a statement Friday that “there is no percentage cap” on certain performance ratings.“We are working to normalize ratings across the agency,” the statement said. “The goal of this effort is to ensure fair, consistent performance evaluations across all of our parks and programs.”Though many employers in corporate American often instruct managers to classify a majority of employee reviews in the middle tier, the Parks Service has commonly given higher ratings to a greater proportion of employees.Performance ratings are also taken into account when determining which employees are laid off first if the agency were to go ahead with “reduction in force” layoffs, as many other departments have done this year.The order appears to violate the Code of Federal Regulations, said Tim Whitehouse, a lawyer and executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. The code states that the government cannot require a “forced distribution” of ratings for federal employees.“Employees are supposed to be evaluated based upon their performance, not upon a predetermined rating that doesn’t reflect how they actually performed,” he said.The Trump administration has reduced the number of parks staff this year by about 4,000 people, or roughly a quarter, according to an analysis by the National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy group. Parks advocates say the administration is deliberately seeking to demoralize staff and failing to recognize the additional work they now have to do, given the exodus of employees through voluntary resignations and early retirements.Rep. Jared Huffman (D-California) said the move would artificially depress employee ratings:“You can’t square that with the legal requirements of the current regulations about how performance reviews are supposed to work.”Some details of the directive were first reported by E&E News.Park superintendents on the conference call objected to the order. Some questioned the fairness to employees whose work merited a better rating at a time when many staff are working harder to make up for the thousands of vacancies.“I need leaders who lead in adversity. And if you can’t do that, just let me know. I’ll do my best to find somebody that can,” Lands said in response, the people familiar with the call said.One superintendent who was on the call, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation, said in an interview that Lands’ statement “was meant to be a threat.”The superintendent said they were faced with disobeying the order and potentially being fired or illegally changing employees’ evaluations.“If we change these ratings to meet the quota and violated federal law, are we subject to removal because we violated federal law and the oath we took to protect the Constitution?” the superintendent said.Myron Ebell, a board member of the American Lands Council, an advocacy group supporting the transfer of federal lands to states and counties, defended the administration’s move.“It’s exactly the same thing as grade inflation at universities. Think about it. Not everybody can be smarter than average. If everyone is doing great, that’s average,” he said.Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, said in a statement that the policy could make it easier to lay off staff, after the administration already decimated the ranks of the parks service.“After the National Park Service was decimated by mass firings and pressured staff buyouts, park rangers have been working the equivalent of second, third, or even fourth jobs protecting parks,” Pierno said.“Guidance like this could very well be setting up their staff to be cannon fodder during the next round of mass firings. This would be an unconscionable move,” she added.

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Coalmine expansions would breach climate targets, NSW government warned in ‘game-changer’ report

Environmental advocates welcome Net Zero Commission’s report which found the fossil fuel was ‘not consistent’ with emissions reductions commitments Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe New South Wales government has been warned it can no longer approve coalmine developments after the state’s climate agency found new expansions would be inconsistent with its legislated emissions targets.In what climate advocates described as a significant turning point in campaigns against new fossil fuel programs, the NSW Net Zero Commission said coalmine expansions were “not consistent” with the state’s legal emissions reductions commitments of a 50% cut (compared with 2005 levels) by 2030, a 70% cut by 2035, and reaching net zero by 2050.Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter Continue reading...

The New South Wales government has been warned it can no longer approve coalmine developments after the state’s climate agency found new expansions would be inconsistent with its legislated emissions targets.In what climate advocates described as a significant turning point in campaigns against new fossil fuel programs, the NSW Net Zero Commission said coalmine expansions were “not consistent” with the state’s legal emissions reductions commitments of a 50% cut (compared with 2005 levels) by 2030, a 70% cut by 2035, and reaching net zero by 2050.The commission’s Coal Mining Emissions Spotlight Report said the government should consider the climate impact – including from the “scope 3” emissions released into the atmosphere when most of the state’s coal is exported and burned overseas – in all coalmine planning decisions.Environmental lawyer Elaine Johnson said the report was a “game-changer” as it argued coalmining was the state’s biggest contribution to the climate crisis and that new coal proposals were inconsistent with the legislated targets.She said it also found demand for coal was declining – consistent with recent analyses by federal Treasury and the advisory firm Climate Resource – and the state government must support affected communities to transition to new industries.“What all this means is that it is no longer lawful to keep approving more coalmine expansions in NSW,” Johnson wrote on social media site LinkedIn. “Let’s hope the Department of Planning takes careful note when it’s looking at the next coalmine expansion proposal.”The Lock the Gate Alliance, a community organisation that campaigns against fossil fuel developments, said the report showed changes were required to the state’s planning framework to make authorities assess emissions and climate damage when considering mine applications.It said this should apply to 18 mine expansions that have been proposed but not yet approved, including two “mega-coalmine expansions” at the Hunter Valley Operations and Maules Creek mines. 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A proposed mining road in Northwest Alaska has sparked debate amid climate change impacts

AMBLER, Alaska (AP) — In Northwest Alaska, a proposed mining road has become a flashpoint in a region already stressed by climate change. The 211-mile (340-kilometer) Ambler Access Road would cut through Gates of the Arctic National Park and cross 11 major rivers and thousands of streams relied on for salmon and caribou. The Trump administration approved the project this fall, setting off concerns over how the Inupiaq subsistence way of life can survive amid rapid environmental change. Many fear the road could push the ecosystem past a breaking point yet also recognize the need for jobs. A strategically important mineral deposit The Ambler Mining District holds one of the largest undeveloped sources of copper, zinc, lead, silver and gold in North America. Demand for minerals used in renewable energy is expected to grow, though most copper mined in the U.S. currently goes to construction — not green technologies. Critics say the road raises broader questions about who gets to decide the terms of mineral extraction on Indigenous lands. Climate change has already devastated subsistence resources Northwest Alaska is warming about four times faster than the global average — a shift that has already upended daily life. The Western Arctic Caribou Herd, once nearly half a million strong, has fallen 66% in two decades to around 164,000 animals. Warmer temperatures delay cold and snow, disrupting migration routes and keeping caribou high in the Brooks Range where hunters can’t easily reach them.Salmon runs have suffered repeated collapses as record rainfall, warmer rivers and thawing permafrost transform once-clear streams. In some areas, permafrost thaw has released metals into waterways, adding to the stress on already fragile fish populations.“Elders who’ve lived here their entire lives have never seen environmental conditions like this,” one local environmental official said. The road threatens what remains The Ambler road would cross a vast, largely undisturbed region to reach major deposits of copper, zinc and other minerals. Building it would require nearly 50 bridges, thousands of culverts and more than 100 truck trips a day during peak operations. Federal biologists warn naturally occurring asbestos could be kicked up by passing trucks and settle onto waterways and vegetation that caribou rely on. The Bureau of Land Management designated some 1.2 million acres of nearby salmon spawning and caribou calving habitat as “critical environmental concern.”Mining would draw large volumes of water from lakes and rivers, disturb permafrost and rely on a tailings facility to hold toxic slurry. With record rainfall becoming more common, downstream communities fear contamination of drinking water and traditional foods.Locals also worry the road could eventually open to the public, inviting outside hunters into an already stressed ecosystem. Many point to Alaska’s Dalton Highway, which opened to public use despite earlier promises it would remain private.Ambler Metals, the company behind the mining project, says it uses proven controls for work in permafrost and will treat all water the mine has contact with to strict standards. The company says it tracks precipitation to size facilities for heavier rainfall. A potential economic lifeline For some, the mine represents opportunity in a region where gasoline can cost nearly $18 a gallon and basic travel for hunting has become prohibitively expensive. Supporters argue mining jobs could help people stay in their villages, which face some of the highest living costs in the country.Ambler mayor Conrad Douglas summed up the tension: “I don’t really know how much the state of Alaska is willing to jeopardize our way of life, but the people do need jobs.”The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environmentCopyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – December 2025

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This Green-Flashing Firefly Could Become the First Ever Listed as Endangered in the U.S.

Related News

Park Service orders changes to staff ratings, a move experts call illegal

Coalmine expansions would breach climate targets, NSW government warned in ‘game-changer’ report

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We Trees

The Straight Poop

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Suggested Viewing

In Pursuit of Passive

We Trees

The Straight Poop

THE SPRAYER

CO2? CO-Nee!

Join us to forgea sustainable future

sign up for our mailing list to stay informed on the latest films and environmental headlines.

Join us to forge
a sustainable future