There was a time when monsoon evenings in Nagpur came with their own spectacle. Once darkness settled after a spell of rain, tiny flickers of light would appear over fields, gardens, ponds and forest edges as fireflies, or ‘kajve’ as they are known in Maharashtra, illuminated the night. Today, an entire generation may have grown up without ever seeing a firefly in the city. While there are no historical scientific surveys identifying exactly which species were once most abundant in Nagpur, Dr Sharyu Ghonmode, Professor, Science College, Congress Nagar, says the city and the surrounding Vidarbha region historically supported healthy populations of native fireflies, most likely belonging to genera such as Asymmetricata, Luciola, Curtos, and Abscondita.

 

These insects were naturally found across Vidarbha, eastern Maharashtra and neighbouring states, having evolved in tropical deciduous forests and monsoon ecosystems. “Nagpur’s climate once provided ideal conditions for fireflies. Adults emerged during the south-west monsoon, and were active between June and early September, especially after evening showers. Older residents frequently remember seeing them between 7 pm and 10 pm around gardens, agricultural fields, irrigation canals, streams, village outskirts and forest edges. Their larvae developed in moist soil rich in earthworms and snails, while adults depended on humid, dark nights to communicate through their characteristic flashing signals, which help males and females locate each other for mating,” Dr Ghonmode explained. That is precisely why urbanisation has proved so damaging.

 

Fireflies prefer moist deciduous forests, wetlands, marshes, pond edges, riverbanks and dense green spaces, and naturally avoid brightly lit environments. “Their decline is due to population loss, not migration,” Dr Ghonmode explains. “Fireflies do not migrate long distances in search of better habitats. If their habitats disappear, the local populations simply decline.” She attributes their disappearance to a combination of rapid urbanisation, shrinking green cover, destruction of wetlands, habitat fragmentation, excessive pesticide use, soil pollution, rising temperatures and increasing artificial lighting. Higher temperatures dry out the soil, reduce humidity, lower larval survival and shorten the lifespan of adults. Artificial lighting further disrupts the flashing signals they use to find mates, reducing breeding success and causing larval damage, which then leads to the population shrinking further. Healthy populations are now largely confined to forests around Pench Tiger Reserve, Bor Tiger Reserve, Navegaon National Park and areas near Umred.

 

Dr Ghonmode believes recovery is still possible if habitats are restored. Protecting wetlands, planting native trees, preserving leaf litter, reducing pesticide use, restoring ponds and streams, limiting unnecessary night lighting, and even creating ‘dark zones’ in parks during the monsoon could help these insects return. Fireflies have not abandoned Nagpur -- they are disappearing because the landscapes they depend on are disappearing with them. Whether they become a familiar sight again will depend on how much of those habitats the city chooses to protect.