Credit: G. Shumway/Getty Images

Firefly researchers swarmed to Chiang Mai, Thailand, in August for a symposium on their favourite beetle and to enjoy the creatures' famous light show on the banks of the Mae Klong River.

But the display here, and elsewhere across the world, has lost a certain lustre because the fireflies seem to be disappearing. To improve on the mostly anecdotal data for firefly declines, the Boston Museum of Science in Massachusetts, in conjunction with researchers at Tufts University in Medford and Fitchburg State College, has developed Firefly Watch, an online tracking system to which volunteers can contribute data. The site has collected 11,000 data points since May.