Firefly populations are declining globally, with light pollution being a key driver that disrupts mating signals and threatens firefly welfare and survival.
Firefly welfare is affected primarily by the disruption of their light-based mating behavior. Artificial light drowns out bioluminescent signals that females use to locate mates, reducing reproductive success and potentially causing mate-searching stress. The welfare implications of light pollution extend across many nocturnally active species, but fireflies represent a particularly clear case where human light output directly interferes with essential natural behaviors. Reducing light pollution in firefly habitat has both welfare and ecological benefits.