What can research into fireflies tell us about the environment?

• Scott LaMar
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Scott LaMar has worked in both radio and television for more than four decades.
  
  Currently, LaMar is the Host and Executive Producer of The Spark program on WITF-FM, 89.5 & 93.3 in Harrisburg, Pa.
  
  Previously, LaMar was WITF TV’s Sr. Public Affairs producer and produced the station’s award-winning weekly public affairs TV program, Smart Talk.
  
  In addition to his on-air duties, LaMar has moderated political candidate debates, including those for candidates running for Pennsylvania governor and the U.S. Senate and was a regular contributor to BBC World News TV before and after the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.
  
  LaMar often emcees or moderates local events and has gone as far as California to emcee a national event.
  
  The American Society of Civil Engineers honored LaMar with their national Excellence in Journalism award in 2020. He has been nominated for five Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
  
  LaMar and The Spark have been recognized throughout the Central Pennsylvania community including ADVOZ Lancaster’s “Dignity in Dialogue Award”, the South-Central Assembly’s “Regional Citizen Award” and was named a “Humanitarian Hero” by The Humane Society of the United States/Pennsylvania.
  
  A native of Coatesville, Pa., LaMar has also worked as a broadcast news anchor, sports play-by-play announcer and manager.

Video shot of fireflies glowing.

Almost every child has run around the back yard trying to catch fireflies illuminating the sky on a hot summer night.

Bucknell University biology Professor Sarah Lower and her research team study all things fireflies and they will be continuing research this summer.

One in three firefly species in North America may be at risk of extinction, according to a study by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Bucknell biology professors Sarah Lower and Moria Chambers talked about their firefly research and what we can learn about the environment around us on The Spark Monday.

Chambers said they don’t know why there are fireflies in danger of extinction,”Our research is trying to address what are some of the factors that could be influencing that? What are the things, you know, that could be causing it? So things like light pollution could be influencing their ability to find mates at night. Things like infection, which is the focus of our most recent study, could be becoming more prevalent, could be killing off different populations, especially as climate change is occurring. And that’s going to influence the biology of these insects and potentially make them more susceptible to various infections.”

Fireflies are looking to mate when they flash their lights as Lower explained,”Each species has its own flash pattern that they use as sort of a code. So in light flashing species, we think of female sort of being down on the grass or on the vegetation and all of those flashes that you see when you’re out on your porch at night. Those are generally the males and they’re patrolling for these sedentary females. And so when a female sees a pattern that she likes, she’ll reply with a flash of her own and then the male will flash back at her and they’ll go back and forth or sort of talk to each other. We call it a flash dialog in the Firefly field. And until they find each other.”