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One fuzzy blink after another — and always just an inch from the grasp of sticky fingers — the lightning bugs begin to fill the air.

Max was the tenderhearted one who got upset at so much as a caterpillar accidentally crushed underfoot, or a dead lightning bug caught in the grille of his family’s limousine.

While fireflies, or lightning bugs as they are commonly known, are considered to be a staple in the Northeast, it's also the region where many firefly species are most vulnerable to going extinct.

But these beloved, bioluminescent insects, also known as lightning bugs, are in trouble.

Thorn pointed ahead, and there, through the now open path, was a lagoon, shining with beautiful crystal-clear waters and what looked like hundreds of blue lightning bugs.