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)
AL HENAKIYAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Ricky Brabec deliberately gave up his motorbike lead over Luciano Benavides in the Dakar Rally while Nasser Al-Attiyah was happy to cruise through another day closer to his sixth car title on Thursday.
Al-Attiyah started 346-kilometer stage 11 between Bisha north to Al Henakiyah with a 12-minute overall lead and let it drop to less than nine minutes over new second-placed driver Nani Roma in a Ford.
Al-Attiyah was content to let Dacia teammate Sébastien Loeb catch up and pass him to have a teammate nearby for any help and to minimize errors on the mazy, dirt track. Al-Attiyah was 17th, nearly 13 minutes behind stage winner Mattias Ekström, and said he needed to execute the same plan on Friday's last effective racing stage before the end on Saturday.
“If we lose two, three, four minutes no problem,” Al-Attiyah said. “We just need to finish this Dakar in first place.”
Honda cooked up a strategy in the Saudi desert for Adrien van Beveren to open the way and let Brabec catch up after the 190-kilometer pit stop and pick up time bonuses.
Brabec boosted his overall lead from 56 seconds to nearly four minutes just 25 kilometers from the finish. He was also within a minute of the stage lead but he slowed down so KTM rival Benavides was the new overall leader, but only by 23 seconds.
Brabec got his his wish to start Friday's stage 12 six minutes behind Benavides, so he can eye him. They head west to the rally starting point of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast on 311 kilometers of gravel, some river beds with a finish in the dunes.
“A little bit of strategy today and hopefully it pays off tomorrow,” Brabec said. "I feel like its going to be a good day. We’re going back into the rocks so it will be a little bit better for us.”
Brabec is counting on his experience of winning the Dakar in 2020 and 2024 to trump Benavides, who has a best placing of fourth last year.
“I've been in this situation before,” Brabec said. “For the whole two weeks I've been just trying to stay relax, stay comfortable and just be confident, so two days more. I'm gonna do the same thing tomorrow that I've been doing every day; ride dirt bikes and have fun.”
Van Beveren helped Brabec with navigation while fighting with another teammate, Skyler Howes, the entire day for the stage win.
Howes prevailed by 21 seconds for his first career major stage in his eighth Dakar. He was third in 2023 and sixth last year. He's running fifth, 34 minutes off the pace.
Benavides was fourth in the stage and believed the race will be decided on the final 105-kilometer sprint on Saturday.
“I played no strategy like Ricky. I don't care,” Benavides said. “I'm doing what I can to control what I can control.”
Ekström won his third car stage of this Dakar, a special so fast that 12 other drivers were within 10 minutes.
Ford achieved another 1-2-3 stage. Romain Dumas, a three-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, was a career-best second just over a minute back and Carlos Sainz was third.
Only Toyota's Henk Lategan beat Ekström to a checkpoint but Lategan's podium hopes were wrecked after 140 kilometers when a bearing broke on his rear left wheel. Lategan was second last year and second overall overnight but he plunged out of the top 15, at least.
Loeb moved up to third overall, 10 minutes behind Roma and three minutes ahead of Ekström.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Rider Daniel Sanders competes during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Fabian Lurquin compete during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Rider Skyler Howes competes during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Henk Lategan, left, and co-driver Brett Cummings repair their car during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Nani Roma and co-driver Alex Haro compete during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
