FOUNTAIN, Colo. — Colorado bio-artist, Lauri Lynnxe Murphy is endeavoring to create music with fireflies by pairing computer programming with live guitar and Theremin performances at Fountain Creek Nature Center in conjunction with the center's annual firefly hikes.
"So what we have," commented Murphy, "is a little bit of code in a computer, [so] that when we point a camera at the fireflies, it's translated into sound and we present it as a live webcast."
The goal of the performance, funded by the Arts in Society grant that took place over the third weekend of July, was to raise awareness of the presence and needs of Colorado's firefly population by presenting their nightly routine through a different lens.
"They're elusive, you don't know if you're going to catch them, but that's also why we need to protect their habitats, encourage dark sky initiatives and most importantly, find them, genomically sequence them, [and] know where they are," Murphy said.
It's a passion shared by researchers at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster.
Populations of these bioluminescent beetles are scattered in localized pockets of wetlands around Colorado. In these wetlands, fireflies act as predators of other invertebrates like snails and earthworms, and as prey for birds, reptiles, and amphibians. With wetlands being lost to development and water and light pollution, it is important that we study these populations and how to preserve our native wetland habitats.
To this end, the Butterfly Pavilion has been encouraging Coloradans to document their own firefly encounters through a project dubbed "Colorado Firefly Watch."
The Butterfly Pavilion has also been pursuing the "Firefly Lifecycle Project" for a number of years. The project revolves around gathering wild fireflies and rearing their offspring in order to better understand the species.
This project has already resulted in four firefly larvae pupating into adult fireflies, the most recent of which emerged on June 11.
Colorado species of fireflies are currently very poorly understood. This breakthrough greatly expands our understanding of these species and will help with future efforts to describe species, improve habitat, and protect their magical experience for future Coloradans.
The ultimate end goal of this project is to create a "sustainable population of lab reared fireflies," which would aid in the continued understanding and conservation of Colorado fireflies.
From there, the lab plans to distribute their "firefly husbandry" methods to additional labs, furthering research and conservation efforts on a broader scale.
While it will take further studies to know whether or not Colorado firefly populations are declining or remaining steady, studies indicate that other firefly populations across the country have been adversely affected.
Even in the case of not sighting many or any fireflies, Lauri Lynnxe Murphy said that's alright.
"Doing something like this has a high risk of failure of course," Murphy said. "t=That I might come all the way out here, drag all these people out here, spend all this money and not see fireflies, and i think that, in a way, that's the story. If you're doing something that's valuable to raise awareness, then that's the success."
This year, potentially due to unseasonably warm weather patterns, Dr. Francisco Garcia said that the peak of "firefly season" happened around the end of June — about two weeks earlier than usual. Even so, scattered fireflies were visible during Murphy's musical pursuit.
Insects go at their own pace, and every year is different. With the differences in weather and temperature each year, the development of insects is also affected. For example, warmer temperatures can accelerate larvae development and therefore mature faster.
Firefly season (typically mid-June through July) has largely drawn to a close, but if you're looking for the best sites to witness these tiny, bioluminescent beetles, check out the Butterfly Pavilion's Firefly Watch page.
A final note, if you live near any wetlands and are looking to figure out how to best protect Colorado fireflies, the Butterfly Pavilion provided these guidelines:
- Turn off outside lights at night during the 2-3 weeks adults are active (typically taking place between mid-June and mid-July)
- Manage your garden and create/accumulate features for fireflies such as rotten logs or a small pond
- Be mindful of pesticides
- Stay on trails when visiting firefly habitats
- Engage in conservation efforts
