How to Rear Fireflies
- 1). Collect small half-pint jars and fill them with moist, sterile soil prior to adding collected larvae. Terry Lynch (a naturalist and firefly expert) recommends a 1:1 mixture of moist peat moss and aquarium-grade activated charcoal for the medium.
- 2). Collect firefly larvae in fall or early summer. The larvae glow when disturbed, and can be found by raking through leaf litter on a dark night after a rain in wetland areas. Larvae are cannibalistic, so use a separate jar for each one.
- 3). Feed the firefly larvae small pieces of earthworm, moist dog food pellets and aquatic snails. When provided with the proper food and soil, the larvae will pupate in spring or early summer and then emerge as adult fireflies.
- 4). Place the fireflies that emerge into a separate clear jar with a pierced lid. Give them grass at the bottom and place a moistened paper towel inside to keep the air in the jar humid. Only keep them for a couple days for observation, then let them go to find a mate and lay eggs.
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