How to Chase Fireflies with your hands

I love when fireflies light up the sky on a warm summer night. In fact one of our favorite summer evening pastimes is to chase fireflies with our hands, put in a jar and release, but only after we have had time to ohh and ahh. It’s part thrill, part magic.

Aside for the spectacular light show…and the chase, I love the sweet memories we are creating. This year I decided to take a few pictures of our time and give you a few tips on how to chase fireflies with your hands, just in case this is on your summer bucket list. If it’s not and you have kids, you may want to include it.

What’s the difference between firefly and lighting bug

Before we talk about how to catch these insects, we should talk about the difference between the two. Guess what? Fireflies and lightning bugs are the same insect, and are actually beetles. You will find this beetle around more often where there is a lot of moisture or after it has rained. Their diet consists of mainly snail, slugs and insect larvae.

What you need

Jar or plastic container with a lid- We used a mason jar
Your hands or a small net– Although we could have certainly used a net, we decided to go old school and use our hands to catch these fascinating little creatures. Using your hands is a bit more challenging but still a lot of fun.
A beautiful summer night
Someone to catch with you…. to have that much more fun

Turn off bright exterior lights

Bright light can scare off lightning bugs and make them harder to spot at night. Turn off as many exterior lights and begin to chase away. After we spotted some in the back yard we went to the front yard where we caught more because it was darker.

Spot and Catch

Once you’re close enough to the lightning bugs, reach out and cup them up with your hands. Be careful not to use so much force. If you are using a net sweep your net back and forth in their direction of the fireflies until you’ve caught a few.

Place the bugs in the jar

Place the bugs into the jar and close the lid. A few might fly away but that’s okay. We planned on releasing shortly after we placed in the jar. If you are going to keep overnight, poke just a few very small holes on the lid. If you don’t have a lid just place a piece of breathable fabric with an elastic band on the top of your lid.

Release the fireflies

After your done looking at the amazement in your jar it’s time to release them. Although fireflies can survive and reproduce in captivity, it’s always best to release them within a day after capture. The best time to release is at night since they are most active.

Firefly 101

Fireflies do not bite, they aren’t poisonous, and carry no diseases.

Fireflies have a life span of about 2 months. Fireflies are not endangered but are at threat for disappearing. So after you catch, think about releasing quickly.

Fireflies are nocturnal insects, and spend most of their daylight hours on the ground in the grass.

Fireflies talk to each other with light

Best time to find fireflies are June and July

Most adult fireflies never eat as they did all their eating as larvae. Don’t keep fireflies in a jar for more than two or three days. Since they only live a few days or weeks it’s best to catch and immediately release to continue seeing the spectacular light show just a bit longer.