Does anyone know if there are certain plants or shrubs that encourage the presence fireflies?
I searched the DG archives and found appreciative/reminiscent posts, but nothing suggesting what might be planted to welcome them!
Wikipedia suggests that they can overwinter in soil and under tree bark and that their larvae feed on other larvae, snails and slugs.
I also found a website that sells (expensive) lights that look like fireflies, but no good suggestions on how to encourage their presence. . .
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Teresa
Gardening for Fireflies?
I used to live in Maryland when I was young and remember playing with fireflies . Moved to Arizona when I was 15 and they are not present here , too dry for them I suppose . I just entered firefly habitat into google and came up with these sites ;
http://www.normanbirdsanctuary.org/artman/publish/article_43.shtml
http://iris.biosci.ohio-state.edu/projects/FFiles/habitat.html
http://www.essortment.com/all/fireflyinformat_raql.htm
http://www.sciencecases.org/fireflies/fireflies_notes.asp
http://www.springerlink.com/content/v108n45874g48085/
Good luck with further homework .
I have no science to support this, but it seems to me that the fireflies are thick on my mulberry trees during the day, especially when there's fruit... I'm not sure what fireflies eat? but they do like to hang around those trees. We have mulberry and wild cherry trees in the little "fence row" of trees across the back of our yard, and we have loads of fireflies here.