this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2024
541 points (98.7% liked)
solarpunk memes
3015 readers
3 users here now
For when you need a laugh!
The definition of a "meme" here is intentionally pretty loose. Images, screenshots, and the like are welcome!
But, keep it lighthearted and/or within our server's ideals.
Posts and comments that are hateful, trolling, inciting, and/or overly negative will be removed at the moderators' discretion.
Please follow all slrpnk.net rules and community guidelines
Have fun!
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I thought lightning bugs laid eggs in water?
I looked it up on Wikipedia
So the comic is a lie to give us feelings.
But mulching leaves is so much better than raking and removal. All those nutrients, gone.
The comic isn't a lie. Lightning bug eggs need wet soil, and leaf litter protects the ground from drying out. The leaf litter also creates habitat for lots of small invertebrates which will become the prey of lightning bug larvae that would otherwise starve in a well manicured lawn
Easy fix - "Are there any dead leaves to protect our eggs?"
I left the leaves on our lawn last winter, and this year I saw even fewer lightning bugs. It might be kind of pointless for me to do that, because our yard backs up to a huge ravine that is completely unkept - leaves, trees, branches, etc., all fall there and are left there. So it might be like adding a few square feet to an already large area.
But ...the birds. Huge flocks of black birds sometimes come by; there will sometimes be thousands of them. If I'm outside when they show up, it's a cacophony of chirping, then when they take off you can hear the whoosh from all of them. It's such a great sight. But... they're digging under the leaves, so I wonder if they were getting the insects I was trying to help. :(
Most lightning bugs overwinter as larvae for two winters before pupating. A lot of the time, the weather and conditions two years prior can have a bigger effect on lightning bug numbers than the conditions that same year
Also the birds are definitely eating the insects, and that's ok! There should be enough to go around. The bird poop is only going to support further ecological development of that soil
Ah good. I didn't realize it was two winters. So hopefully next year we'll see more lightning bugs.
When I was growing up I remember seeing lightning bugs everywhere during the summer. As an adult, living less than 100 miles south of that, I see far fewer of them. It's really disturbing. And, hey, it's good for me because I have to do less yard work.