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Cultivating Landscapes for Fireflies

with Dr. Kayla Perry

Insect populations are in decline worldwide. Dr. Perry will discuss the ecology and importance of beneficial beetles with a focus on fireflies, and will highlight strategies to support them.

Insect populations are in decline worldwide. The causes of insect declines are multifaceted and nuanced, making it difficult to pinpoint a single driver and solution. Beetles (Order Coleoptera) are an abundant and diverse order of insects that contribute to a variety of ecosystem services that support people and nature. Several charismatic groups of beetles are reported to be in decline, including fireflies (Family Lampyridae). This presentation will discuss the ecology and importance of beneficial beetles with a focus on fireflies and highlight strategies to support their populations in landscapes.

This program is in partnership with Green Bexley's Love Your Alley program, and generously funded by the Bexley Community Foundation.

Speaker Bio 

Dr. Perry is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology at the Ohio State University and is based at the Wooster campus. Her research aims to understand how disturbances influence the structure and function of insect communities in natural and urban forests. Natural disturbances such as fire and wind are integral components of forest ecosystems, but human-induced disturbances such as exotic species, habitat degradation, and climate change impact forest health and management. Kayla’s previous research has focused on disturbances caused by emerald ash borer, windstorms, salvage logging, and urbanization. She has extensive experience working with ground‐ and soil‐dwelling insect communities and is a ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) expert. Her teaching interests include insect ecology, invasion ecology, forest entomology, and ecological modeling. Kayla received her Ph.D. in Entomology from the Ohio State University in December 2016.

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