If I knew how I would do it for free. We have many fireflies here in Illinois and I would love to share some with you. seriously

@jonsblond Mail me some! Palease~! hahaha

The only site I was able to find online was godofinsects.com . They appear to ship 12 live fireflies between june-july for $40. Unfortunately we’re a day late on that one…..

Evidently people release fireflies at wedding ceremonies, maybe try googling along those lines?

When I was in Belize there was a beetle known as the fire beetle. It was like fireflies except it had two lights and was incredibly bright . If you caught one, you could easily read a book by it’s light.

Although I can’t help you, this is the best question ever because I totally understand where you’re coming from! If you figure something out, let me know.

We have tons of them here in Western NY. Come for a visit. You can catch some and take them home. When my kids were little and had sleepovers we would let them catch a few and let them loose in the house. Fun!
They would release them back into the wild in the early morning.

@Esedess Never saw fireflies? Oh man, they are so cool, it’s almost magical. My lot was a 10 acre meadow, grown up a bit now, but they love it here. I would guess I had tens of thousands out there one night this past Summer. If they mate again this year I’ll try to get at least an image for you, video if I can. One note of caution, check with the CA Dept of Agriculture. You guys have a lot of restrictions on bringing things in to the state.

I know what you mean. For me, it’s not summer until the fireflies brighten the back yard after dark. Well, those, and thunderstorms. If you find a way to send us some better thunderstorms in Connecticut than we’ve had so far this year, I’d be happy to send you some fireflies from my back yard. Oh, and hot dogs. Seriously, I need to have some hot dogs soon or it won’t be summer.

If you google the term “live insect supply” you’ll be able to find a ton of suppliers. Once you start on that list I’m sure you’ll be able to find someone to fill your request – assuming it can be done legally. They would be sure to know that, too.

Please don’t try to import a species of insect into the region where you live. If they thrive, it could have dire consequences for all kinds of species that already live in your region. Just treasure your memories and go back and visit them once in a while.

Fireflies need wet soil and high humidity to survive. That explains why we have so many here in the Northeast near the lakes and why there are so few West of the Rockies.

@dappled_leaves. @Esedess never saw a firefly so there isn’t any memories to treasure. Furthermore as @LuckyGuy fireflies can not survive in that region so they would need to be kept in a vivarium of sorts. It’d be no different than my pet tarantula or frogs.

Holy crap! You’ve never seen a firefly?? Well, they’re kind of fairy like, especially when they’re floating about in a bunch of trees. I never knew there were people who have never seen a firefly…

@El_Cadejo
Missed it by ONE day! *sigh~ Do you see how my life works? lol

@Esedess Unfortunately, I share similar “luck”

I know what you mean. I saw them for the first time when my family moved to Pennsylvania from Colorado when I was 14. My parents cracked up at me and my brother’s gaping in amazement and running around after them in delight. They’re like the universe’s most perfectly designed bug: they’re slow, fly at kid height, come in the summer, and they light up!

The other bug revelation of the East for me was cicadas, which I think are almost as great as fireflies. I moved north recently and am sad to find that my noisy little friends apparently don’t live here. Do you guys have them in California?

Good luck on getting fireflies out there.

@wildpotato We have cicadas in Oregon, so my guess is that they’re in California, too. :)

I might be able to get a video of fireflies flying over a soybean field with a great horned owl chorus as the soundtrack. I know it’s not the real thing @Esedess, but I hope it’s the next best thing for you.

We have cicadas. That’s how I know when it’s July.

Video

The owls weren’t out yet, but you can hear frogs and an occasional cricket and passing car. I heard a cow right when I stopped recording and I also had a bat fly above me. The Midwest is not boring. :)

@jonsblond Thank you for sharing that, it’s very peaceful. I hope to see fireflies in person someday, too.

@jonsblond Thank you so much!! Definitely something I look forward to experiencing one day. I have a feeling by the time I make it out there, I’m going to be an old man running around with a bunch of kids while local adults question my sanity.

@Esedess You earn insanity by old age, so live it up. :D