5 Things You May Not Know about Fireflies

 

I don’t know about you but I get worn out and depressed watching the news every night and need a break from it now and then. Instead of watching the nightly news lately, I ventured outside at dusk several nights in the past week, listening to the sounds of gray tree frogs, peepers and flowing water. I also reveled in the magic of a special insect that is only active for a short while this time of year. Fireflies!! The show I witnessed last night in some meadows along my road was one for the books! Absolutely mesmerizing! The darkness danced with the flashing of tiny lights.

When was the last time you experienced a little nature magic, something like watching fireflies silently dance through the darkness? Did you know it’s that time of year again–when the meadows and forests are filled with the flickering lights of the small beetle we call lightning bugs or fireflies?

I recommend you make some time soon to get outside and catch the show! It’s free, and probably in a meadow or forest near you. In the meantime, let’s refresh our knowledge about this magical insect. Here are 5 things that might surprise you about fireflies:

1. Did you know fireflies are not flies and lightning bugs are not bugs? These are just two names for the same common insect and though neither is incorrect, the insect we’re referring to is really a kind of BEETLE–one of 300,000 species of beetle in the world! Beetles are the most plentiful group of insects.
2. There are about 2,000 species of fireflies, most of which are winged and produce some sort of unique light pattern. In the United States, there are 170 species of fireflies.
3. Fireflies produce the most efficient light in the world, with no heat generated. (In comparison, incandescent and halogen bulbs create light through heat, so 90% of the energy used is wasted to generate heat. Florescent bulbs waste 30% of their energy to heat) Their light organ under their abdomens takes in oxygen and combines it in special cells with a chemical called luciferin to create light. Even in the larval stage, this fireflies are luminescent! Firefly eggs also glow!
4. Adult fireflies have a short life! They only live for about 2-4 weeks. In this time their main goal is to find a mate. Scientists are not sure if many species even eat during this stage of their lives. As larvae, they live 1-2 years. A female firefly will lay about 100 eggs, in the soil, or near the top of the soil. The worm-like larvae hatch out in 3-4 weeks, and many become food for some other animal, or, they eat other tiny critters they encounter, as firefly larvae are fierce carnivorous predators, eating snails, slugs and other small creatures they encounter in the soil or leaf litter.
5. Fireflies have a great defense system against predators–when attacked they emit a drop of blood that’s know as “reflex bleeding.” This liquid tastes bitter and may be poisonous to some animals, who quickly learn that fireflies are not worth eating, and thus, leave them alone!

Have you been out recently to witness this magical event? Fireflies are amazing! I hope you make some time soon to get out and enjoy them! If you do, I’d love to hear from you. Use the comment box below.

And lastly, I know I have talked about a special firefly species called the synchronous fireflies that is famous here in western North Carolina at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but did you know you can also see this firefly in Pennsylvania, at Allegheny National Forest? Each year they have a firefly festival with live music during the day and then firefly watching once the sun goes down.