Where are the lightning bugs??

Where are the lightning bugs??  Second week of June and they are still MIA.  At night, the swath of trees behind my yard is dark, not flickering with hundreds of tiny lights as it should be this time of year.  Strange.  A year or two ago, they were already out in February -- also bizarre.  'Course, that was after a freakishly warm winter with daffodils coming up in December and azaleas blooming in January.  This year we had the Winter That Wouldn't End, staying cold until the last week of May.  Longest, latest winter I've ever seen in 35 years of living in Atlanta.

So I'm hoping the fireflies are just delayed by the cold.  My neighbor is worried, thinking maybe they've been affected by whole-yard mosquito treatment systems.  It mystifies me how anyone could think spraying a whole yard with toxic chemicals all summer is a good idea.  Sure seems like overkill to me.  Literally.  What else is it killing?  Bees?  Fireflies?  Ladybugs?  Other good bugs and essential pollinators?  Birds and amphibians?  You and your kids?

Surely there are less harmful ways to avoid mosquitoes.  You don't have to use repellents containing DEET; there are natural alternatives.  Some are less effective, but some work just as well.  One that really works is Repel, a lemon eucalyptus spray.  I love this stuff.  A few squirts on exposed skin, and I can work in my yard for hours on a summer evening and not get bitten.  It has a strong lemony scent, but not nearly as nasty as the DEET stuff.  It can be hard to find; sometimes hardware stores have it, or you can order it online.

Everyone talks about removing standing water; they should also mention removing English ivy.  English ivy is prime mosquito habitat, a veritable mosquito factory.   (Not to mention it's an invasive species that harms trees, smothers native plants, and is choking our urban forests.  Get rid of it!)  When I removed it from the hill in my yard, I was amazed at the big drop in the mosquito population. 

Anyway, two nights ago I saw one lightning bug.  Last night I saw three.  So I'm still hopeful they've just been on hold with the cold, and that warm weather will bring them out at last.