Identification
aka Fireflies or lightning bugs(southern name), some species (larvae and flightless females) are called glow-worms
Hard to confuse because no other insect possess the light-producing structures on their abdomens (some click beetles have light-up structures on their bodies)
Winged beetles 7/16 to 9/16 inch long
There are over 136 species of Lightning Bugs, each with a distinctive rate of flashes per second.
Habitat
Love warm, humid areas. They thrive in tropical regions as well as temperate zones—during the summertime in these environments—on all continents except Antarctica.
Fireflies thrive in forests, fields and marshes near lakes, rivers, ponds, streams and vernal pools. They need a moist environment to survive.
Behavior
Most are nocturnal. Some are diurnal, but they are not luminescent.
They have light organs that are located beneath their abdomens. Not all fireflies glow. Those that glow mix oxygen with a pigment called luciferin to generate light with very little heat. The light is extremely efficient. It’s said to be the most efficient light in the world! Nearly 100% of the chemical reaction’s energy becomes light instead of transforming to heat. The light that fireflies produce may be green, yellow or orange in color. It is called a “cold light”, with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies.
The males are typically flying and while the females wait on the ground or on vegetation.
Fireflies flash in patterns that are unique to each species. Each blinking pattern is used to help them find potential mates. Male fireflies typically fly through the air in search of a female by emitting a species-specific flashing pattern.
Female fireflies in one genus mimic the flash of females in another genus to attract the males, which they lure in to eat.
Offspring
A few days after mating, which occurs in the late spring, a female lays her fertilized eggs on or just below the surface of the ground. The eggs hatch 3-4 weeks later. Midsummer they hatch into Larvae, eat like crazy. Then overwinter in the ground. Could stay in the Larvae stage for 2 years. They then pupate also in the ground in early summer before emerging above ground a couple of weeks later.
Adults only live long enough to mate and lay eggs, usually a couple of weeks.
Predators
firefly blood contains a defensive steroid called lucibufagins that leaves a very unpleasant taste in the predator’s mouth.
Humans- Light pollution, development of fireflies’ habitats and harvesting are all leading to a decrease in the number of fireflies. When their habitat is overtaken, fireflies don’t relocate. Instead, they just disappear.
Diet
Larvae eat snails, slugs, insects earthworms
Important in the control of snails and slugs
Adults may eat pollen, nectar or nothing at all, unless they are one of the carnivorous species which feed on other fireflies.
Fun Facts
Eggs secreted in the earth may show a touch of luminescence, as well as the Larvae
Some fireflies will synchronize their flashes. In the U.S., this phenomenon occurs during the first few weeks of June in the Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee.
They don’t bite, they have no pincers, they don’t attack, they don’t carry disease, they are not poisonous, they don’t even fly very fast.
The Lightning Bug contains luciferin and luciferase, two rare chemicals used in research on cancer, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis and heart disease.