Skip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footer
The Week Logo
Subscribe & SaveSubscribeSubscribe to The Week magazine and save.
Give a GiftGive a Gift
  • Politics
  • Culture
  • Business
  • Personal finance
  • Cartoons
    • Tech
    • Speed Reads
    • Photos
    • Puzzles
    • Books
    • Briefings
    • Instant Opinion
    • Pros and Cons
    • Where They Stand
  • Magazine
  • Newsletters
Skip advert

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

Picture of Julianne McShane
by Julianne McShane
July 17, 2017

A long-exposure photograph of fireflies swarming inside Piedra Canteada, a tourist camp cooperative near the town of Nanacamipla, Tlaxcala state, Mexico.

(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

Juan Guzman Guzman, 70, and a work crew drive to a site inside Piedra Canteada to clear brush and remove dead branches to prevent forest fires.

(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

Skip advert

Finished lumber is stacked near Piedra Canteada's sawmill.

(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

Skip advert

A family plays on swings inside Piedra Canteada.

(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Skip advert

Signs inside Piedra Canteada list rules to help protect the firefly habitat and mating process.

(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

Tourists set up camp inside the Santa Clara Firefly Sanctuary.

(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

Skip advert
Skip advert

Tourists play while awaiting nightfall inside Piedra Canteada.

(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Fireflies glow in sync in the woods of Piedra Canteada.

(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Skip advert
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Email
  • Business
  • World

Recommended

The rising price of true love
Dating app.
Feature

The rising price of true love

U.S. added 517,000 jobs last month
Now hiring sign.
crushing it

U.S. added 517,000 jobs last month

A surge in violence in Pakistan
The rubble of a Peshawar mosque damaged in a suicide bombing.
Feature

A surge in violence in Pakistan

The Adani Group scandal, explained
Gautam Adani.
Briefing

The Adani Group scandal, explained

China says it successfully cloned 3 'super cows'
5 cows lined up at feeding trough.
carbon copy

China says it successfully cloned 3 'super cows'

Japanese restaurants fight back against viral 'sushi terrorism' trend
Photo of Kura Sushi, a Japanese conveyor belt sushi restaurant chain
save the sushi

Japanese restaurants fight back against viral 'sushi terrorism' trend

U.S. to send Ukraine GLSDB smart bombs capable of grazing Crimea
GLSDB smart bomb
Arsenal of Democracy

U.S. to send Ukraine GLSDB smart bombs capable of grazing Crimea

Egyptian mummification used ingredients found only in Asia, scientists find
Saqqara, Egypt
How to make a mummy

Egyptian mummification used ingredients found only in Asia, scientists find

Most Popular

Republicans oust Ilhan Omar from House committee
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn)
Punitive politics?

Republicans oust Ilhan Omar from House committee

Japanese restaurants fight back against viral 'sushi terrorism' trend
Photo of Kura Sushi, a Japanese conveyor belt sushi restaurant chain
save the sushi

Japanese restaurants fight back against viral 'sushi terrorism' trend

China says it successfully cloned 3 'super cows'
5 cows lined up at feeding trough.
carbon copy

China says it successfully cloned 3 'super cows'

Skip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footer
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Kiplinger
  • The Week Junior
  • MoneyWeek
  • The Week UK
  • Subscribe
  • Subscriber Login
  • Give a gift
  • Classroom subscriptions
  • Customer Services
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility
  • Ad info
  • Newsletters
  • Privacy Preferences
  • Do Not Sell My Information

The Week™ is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site at https://futureplc.com
The Week™ is a registered trade mark.
© Future US LLC, 10th floor, 1100 13th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005. All rights reserved.

Follow us on FacebookFollow us on Twitter
Skip advert