FORT COLLINS, Colo. (KOAA) — Since 2017, Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster has been gathering, studying, and working to raise Colorado fireflies; this year (2025), they successfully replicated the entire life cycle of this charismatic insect within a lab setting.
To answer the very first question you might have, yes, we do have fireflies in our state. According to Butterfly Pavilion, they live near fresh water, "...often found near creeks, ponds, rivers, lakes, marshes, and even hot springs."
With that out of the way, let's dive into the Firefly Life Cycle Project.
Butterfly Pavilion’s Firefly Lifecycle Project began in 2017 to study the biology and behavior of Colorado’s elusive fireflies, species so unknown that many Coloradans don’t even realize they exist. Each summer, the team secures permits to collect adult fireflies from wild habitats near Fort Collins, Colorado, to breed and raise in a controlled lab setting.
These painstaking efforts have resulted in several firefly larvae emerging as adults since 2023; however, this summer, Butterfly Pavilion became the first organization to ever complete the full life cycle loop for a Colorado species of firefly.
A female firefly, which was born and raised in the lab, mated with a "wild-collected" male, laid viable eggs, one of which has successfully hatched into a larva.
Butterfly Pavilion is now preparing to raise multiple generations in captivity and expand its research to additional firefly species. The ultimate goal is to build sustainable, genetically diverse populations and contribute to large-scale restoration efforts.
According to a Butterfly Pavilion press release, the project's success also "opens the door" to initiatives that will utilize the past several years of research to generate strategies to restore firefly habitats and also, eventually, reintroduce fireflies into those "vulnerable habitats."
Additionally, the non-profit plans to share the information they've collected and curated with other like-minded organizations in order to further conservation and restoration efforts that will impact firefly populations, which have been on the decline.
Fireflies are more than magical; they are indicator species for wetland health. Their decline signals deeper problems in the environment. Yet due to their elusive larval stage and long development time, fireflies have remained a mystery to science, making effective conservation difficult, until now.
If you're interested in finding out how you can assist Colorado fireflies, head on over to the Butterfly Pavilion website and check out the Colorado Firefly Watch.
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