Why Are Fireflies Dying in Islamabad
Once, summer nights in F-9 Park and Shakarparian glowed with jugnu. Today, fireflies in Islamabad are vanishing — and light pollution, pesticides, and over-cleaned parks are to blame.
By Sadiqa Botany Department
Govt. Girls Degree College No 1 Dera Ismail Khan
Do you remember summer nights in Islamabad? F-9 Park, Shakarparian, even G-6 streets used to shine with tiny moving lights. We called them jugnu. Our children don’t. Because they cannot see them now. Fireflies are bio-indicators. If they die, it means the whole small ecosystem is in trouble,” says Dr. Imran Khalid, Professor of Environmental Biology at Quaid-i-Azam University. Environmental Biology says every living thing needs the right home. Fireflies need 3 simple things:
Dark Nights: Fireflies use light to find a partner. Islamabad now has 300% more street lights than 10 years ago. Bright white LED lights block their signals. No signals = no babies = no fireflies next year.
Wet Soil and Dead Leaves: Baby fireflies live in soil for 2 years. They eat small pests and need wet ground with fallen leaves. But we clean our parks too much. CDA cuts all grass and removes leaves. Machines kill baby fireflies in the soil.
No Poison Spray: Pesticide sprays kill fireflies fast. In Islamabad, we use too much “mosquito spray” and “lawn spray.” We are killing mosquitoes and fireflies together.
Baby fireflies eat slugs and snails that damage plants. Less fireflies = more plant pests = more spray in your garden.
Birds and frogs eat fireflies. If fireflies go, birds in Margalla Hills will also have less food.
Our ecosystem becomes weak: When one small part breaks.
Make “Dark Sky Areas: Dim some lights in Trail-5 or Shakarparian after 9 PM. Use soft yellow lights. Yellow light does not hurt fireflies.
No Mow May: Don’t cut grass in parks for one month in May. This saves baby fireflies in soil. F-9 Park can start this.
Stop Spray in Parks: CDA should ban chemical spray in parks. Use neem oil or natural ways.
Help from People: Students and families can count fireflies at night and send data to Quaid-i-Azam University. Use the free app “iNaturalist”.
Lahore made Jallo Park a "Firefly Reserve" in 2025. Can Islamabad do the same?
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