Fireflies are lighting up summer evenings in New York and the Northeast, putting on dazzling shows in backyards and city parks. There's no official count, but experts say a particularly wet spring may have created the ideal conditions for young fireflies to grow into adults to set summer nights aglow. Fireflies light the night everywhere: there are over 2,000 known species across the globe. They use their characteristic flashes to communicate and find the perfect mate. In New York City, the lightning bugs are out in the five boroughs, sparkling once the sun goes down in places like Central and Prospect Park. The summer months are ideal to spot them, as they start to dwindle throughout the month of August. While northeastern nights may seem brighter this summer, the bugs are still on the decline and they're waning at a faster rate than ever before. "When you see a year like this year where there's a really high number of fireflies, it might give you kind of like a sense of false hope, right?" said entomologist Jessica Ware with the American Museum of Natural History. "Maybe the populations are quite big and that the species in our area are doing quite well, but we think that that's not the case." Habitat loss, pesticide use and light pollution are responsible for a decline in population. In cities, blaring lights from billboards, cars and storefronts can drown out the bugs' glow, making it harder for them to find their kin and pass their genes onto the next generation. To look out for fireflies, consider turning the lights off at night and avoid spraying front lawns with insecticides.