Mexico's magical firefly show

Visitors are flocking to the rural woodlands of central Mexico, hoping to bask in the glow of thousands of fireflies

Julianne McShane's avatar
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Fireflies in the woods of Piedra Canteada
(Image credit: The Associated Press)
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)It doesn't last long, but the seasonal spectacle of thousands of fireflies frenetically glowing against the encroaching darkness will linger in one's mind long aft)

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Piedra Canteada is a rural camp cooperative, owned and run by 42 local families, in the Nanacamilpa village in Tlaxcala, the country's smallest state.Typically, co)

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)In 1990, the co-op attempted to create a more reliable revenue stream by charging campers to use parts of its sprawling 1,500 acres of land. And in the decades tha)

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell))

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Today, Piedra Canteada's firefly business is booming. The co-op welcomes 50,000 tourists annually, with many visitors traveling from Mexico City for the weekend. I)

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)The firefly business has been so successful for the Piedra Canteada co-op that it has been able to shift efforts away from deforestation to focus on tourism, repor)

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell))

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell))

Julianne McShane
Julianne McShane

Julianne McShane is a student at New York University in the Global Liberal Studies program. She has interned at The Week, The Improper Bostonian, and NBC News. She plans to pursue a career in journalism after graduating.