Most species of fireflies are terrestrial during their adult stage, but some are aquatic or semi-aquatic during the larval stage occupying sites near rivers and wet soils. This makes habitats they prefer of special importance to protect. Many species of fireflies tend to be habitat and season specialists, which can limit there range because of their high degree of specialization. There are still many undescribed species around the world that scientists are working hard to document. The areas in the world with the highest species richness are in Central & South America and Asia encompassing roughly 50% of the worlds firefly diversity. They are found in every continent except for Antarctica.įireflies in North America are the best studied as compared to other regions with roughly 120 species. Most fireflies occur in tropical regions, but they are also found in arid zones and dry forest during rainy seasons. There are 2400 firefly species in 144 genera ( taxonomic category that ranks above species) described all over the world. Scientifically, fireflies are classified under Lampyridae, a family of insects within the beetle order Coleoptera, or winged beetles.
