UPDATE: Protections for the Bethany Beach firefly

DELAWARE - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to list the Bethany Beach firefly, a small nocturnal beetle found in coastal Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. 

The Wildlife Service claims that threat stems from climate change, habitat loss and other stressors. The Bethany Beach firefly lives in low-lying freshwater marsh areas near coastal dunes, called swales and those swales protect the insects, provide a source of food and create a moist environment where the species can thrive. 

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, climate models show that somewhere between 76 percent and 95 percent of swales could be lost to high-tide flooding by 2100.

Development, light pollution, recreation, grazing by ponies, the use of pesticides, and invasive plant species can also damage the firefly habitat.

The Service is still learning about this specific bug and are asking for anyone with available knowledge about where the firefly lives and how far the insect travels to contact them. If you think you've seen a Bethany Beach firefly you can make a report by contacting the Chesapeake Bay Field Office at (410) 573-4599.

The rule being considered currently would list the Bethany Beach firefly as threatened. You can find more information Federal Register government website.

CoastTV spoke with Nancy Lucey of the Bethany Beach Nature Center about the Bethany Beach firefly possibly becoming an endangered species. 

"This is really important that it be protected because it is part of the ecosystem." Lucey continued "It is important for people to understand why it is endangered, and should be on the endangered list at the federal level."

Lucey told CoastTV that there is five or less colonies on the coast right now for the firefly's.