Time to shine with your firefly pics, Ottawa - Action News
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OttawaPHOTO CHALLENGE

Time to shine with your firefly pics, Ottawa

We tried to capture the bioluminescent bugs on camera, with so-so results. Can you do better?

Wet spring yields abundance of the bioluminescent bugs

We didn't take this photo, but we wish we had. (Jessica Lucia)

Turns out it's not so easy to photograph fireflies.We should know. We tried, and it didn't turn out so great.

Here's the backstory:Two years ago, we wrote about an explosionin the local firefly population following the 2017 floods.

Many people reported seeing the previously scarce bioluminescent bugs lighting up urban gardens and sports fields.

Firefly larvae feed on slugs, snails and earthworms, creatures that are in abundance during wet weather.

It's thought similar conditions this spring are behind the repeat performance.

The challenge is capturing the spectacular light show on film. We tried to take a video of the flickering insects in this central Ottawa backyard.

Meh.

Here are a few photos taken with a high-quality camera and lens in La Pche, Que., north of Gatineau.

Like a scene from Green Lantern, these fireflies were spotted flitting outside a home in La Pche, Que., this week. (Stu Mills/CBC)

Better, but still...

So we've come up with the bright idea of handing the task overto local nature photographers, pro and amateur. Can you do a better job than us capturingfireflies on camera?

Please send us your photos via Twitter orFacebook, or email them to us atcbcnewsottawa@cbc.ca.