NEW YORK (AP) — Fireflies are lighting up summer evenings across the U.S. Northeast, putting on dazzling shows in backyards and city parks.
There's no official count, but experts say a particularly wet spring may have created the ideal conditions for young fireflies to grow into adults to set summer nights aglow.
Fireflies light the night everywhere: There are over 2,000 known species across the globe. They use their characteristic flashes to communicate and find the perfect mate.
In New York City, the lightning bugs are out in the five boroughs, sparkling once the sun goes down in places like Central Park and Prospect Park. The summer months are ideal to spot them as they start to dwindle throughout the month of August.
While northeastern nights may seem brighter this summer, the bugs are still on the decline and they're waning at a faster rate than ever before.
“It would be a mistake to say firefly populations are high this year, therefore there's no decline,” said Matt Schlesinger with the New York Natural Heritage Program, who is part of an effort to count fireflies in state parks.
Some firefly species could be doing well this year, Schlesinger said, while others are still on the decline.
Habitat loss, pesticide use and light pollution are responsible. In cities, blaring lights from billboards, cars and storefronts can drown out the bugs' glow, making it harder for them to find their kin and pass their genes onto the next generation.
Fireflies are part of the story of summer, said entomologist Jessica Ware with the American Museum of Natural History. Her children grew up seeing them flash in her backyard, but the bugs started to disappear once her kids hit their teenage years.
In the past few months, her family has seen the fireflies come back. Their return made her think about all the kids who are glimpsing the glowing bugs for the very first time.
“It shouldn’t be new,” Ware said. “It should be something that is a universal part of summer.”
To look out for fireflies, consider turning the lights off at night and avoid spraying front lawns with insecticides.
“We still need to do some work ourselves, to change our behavior, to really make sure that large populations can continue to stay large,” Ware said.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
FILE - A firefly flies just after sunset at Tremper Mound in Rosemount, Ohio, July 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
BOSTON (AP) — A woman who worked as a live-in personal chef for former New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs declined to answer questions Tuesday about financial demands made on her behalf, as defense attorneys pressed her over claims she was owed money and inconsistencies in what she said she was paid.
Defense attorneys pressed Jamila “Mila” Adams about money she said she was owed after working as a live-in chef. She testified she was paid about $2,000 a week and believed she had not been fully compensated after being sent home. They pointed to a $19,000 demand made on her behalf and suggested the amount grew over time, culminating in a separate claim that her attorney sought $5.5 million.
Diggs has pleaded not guilty to a felony strangulation charge and a misdemeanor assault and battery charge stemming from a December incident at his home.
When asked about the $5.5 million claim, Adams said, “I can’t speak on that,” and at other points told jurors, “I don’t understand the question” and “I don’t know how to answer the question.”
Defense attorneys also questioned Adams about a public statement she issued Feb. 13 in which she said, “I have never sought money to settle this matter,” and about hiring a lawyer by mid-April. Adams said she retained an attorney for a workers’ compensation claim, saying she believed she had been injured on the job.
They challenged her accounting of what she was owed, presenting records of payments and suggesting she had sought compensation for weeks she did not work. Adams said she had been confused about the amount and “sent the incorrect amount,” maintaining she believed she was owed money.
Prosecutors pushed back on the defense’s financial-motive argument, eliciting testimony that Adams viewed the dispute as a wage issue, not a settlement. She said her statement that she had “never sought money to settle this matter” referred to the criminal case and that she later retained an attorney for a workers’ compensation claim after she believed she was injured on the job.
At times during her second day on the stand, Adams was instructed by the judge to answer questions directly and not include additional details beyond what was asked. Portions of her responses were struck from the record as nonresponsive, with jurors told to disregard them.
“This is not an opportunity for you to interject your own narrative,” Judge Jeanmarie Carroll, told her at one point, warning that continued nonresponsive answers could result in her testimony being stricken.
The testimony followed sharply conflicting accounts presented to jurors a day earlier.
Adams testified Monday that Diggs “smacked me with an open hand” before wrapping his arm around her neck and choking her, leaving her struggling to breathe. She described what she called a “complicated” relationship, saying it had previously been sexual but was not at the time of the alleged assault. She said she lived in his home, preparing meals and snacks, and had known him for more than four years.
Defense attorneys told jurors the alleged attack never happened, pointing to a lack of medical records, photos or video documenting injuries and saying no one else in the home reported seeing or hearing anything unusual. They also suggested Adams had a financial motive.
Prosecutors say the case centers on what happened on Dec. 2, when they allege Diggs entered Adams’ bedroom, slapped her and put her in a headlock that made it difficult to breathe.
A jury was seated Monday in Norfolk County District Court in Dedham.
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs appears in court during his trial at Norfolk County District Court, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)
Witness Jamila Adams testifies during the trial of former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs at Norfolk County District Court, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)
Witness Jamila Adams, right, walks past former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs during Diggs' trial at Norfolk County District Court, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs listens to his defense attorney cross examine witness Jamila Adams during his trial at Norfolk County District Court, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)
Witness Jamila Adams testifies during the trial of former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs at Norfolk County District Court, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)
Judge Jeanmarie Carroll questions potential jurors as the assault trial of Stefon Diggs begins in Dedham, Mass., Monday May 4, 2026. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs leaves Norfolk County District Court, Monday, May 4, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Stefon Diggs' former personal chef, Jamila Adams, is questioned by Assistant District Attorney Drew Virtue in Dedham District Court in Dedham, Mass., Monday May 4, 2026. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Stefon Diggs' former personal chef Jamila Adams is sworn in before giving testimony in Dedham District Court in Dedham, Mass., Monday May 4, 2026. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs returns to Norfolk County District Court, Monday, May 4, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
