Photo by Josh Nezam
The Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House will be aflutter with twinkling lights during the Missouri Botanical Garden's annual Firefly Festival. After your kids complete a few glow-in-the-dark firefly crafts, grab your flashlight and hunt for real fireflies with a nature guide in the meadow behind the Butterfly House.
It's peak time for fireflies from the end of May through June, says Chris Hartley, an entomologist and coordinator of science education at the Butterfly House. Fireflies are most active at dusk while looking for a mate. By 9 p.m., most fireflies have settled down.
"Every single flying firefly you see are males," Hartley says. "The females sit in the grass. They have lights of their own, which respond to the males' lights."
If you are looking for a fun firefly-inspired activity with your kids, pick a grassy spot near the edge of the woods, and watch for female fireflies blinking in the grass. The females will eventually coordinate their lights with the males, flying around as the mating ritual progresses.
Fireflies spend most of their lives as a larva, just like a butterfly. To help fireflies thrive, Hartley recommends keeping a corner of your yard wild. "That habitat is crucial to fireflies," he says. "If you can provide a weedy patch or a corner of your yard with leaves and maybe a piece of firewood in it, that is helpful." The Missouri Department of Conservation also advises against using broad-spectrum insecticides.
The Firefly Festival takes place on June 8, 15, and 22 from 8 to 9:30 pm. The event is for ages 4 and up. RSVP at the Butterfly House's website. Admission is $12 for Missouri Botanical Garden members and $14 for the general public. The Butterfly House is located in Faust Park, at 15193 Olive.
Firefly Crafts to Try At Home
Can’t stay up late enough to catch fireflies in your neighborhood? Here are a few firefly crafts you can do any time of day.
1. Make a friendly firefly fly from a wooden craft spoon and bubble wrap.
2. Transform plastic Easter eggs into fireflies with the help of an LED light and fuzzy sticks.
3. Display painted fireflies in a plastic jar.
4. Older kids can make a firefly lantern from a metal can and twinkle lights.
5. Use glow-in-the-dark beads and fuzzy sticks to make a sparkly pet firefly that really glows.
