Bumper Crop of Fireflies Lights Up Westport
By Lucy Dockter
WESTPORT — Poet Rabindranath Tagore calls them “specks of living light twinkling in the dark.” Fireflies have long been a delight to poets and summer enthusiasts alike.
Many people treasure childhood memories of catching fireflies on warm summer evenings. As the sun goes down, the insects emerge to light up the night.
If you’ve noticed this summer is especially colorful in Westport and thereabouts, you’re not alone. Fireflies appear abundant.
Dr. Gale Ridge at the Insect Information Office of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven attributes the apparent increase to three factors.