{"id":714,"date":"2013-07-14T02:00:27","date_gmt":"2013-07-14T02:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/?p=714"},"modified":"2013-07-25T13:35:12","modified_gmt":"2013-07-25T13:35:12","slug":"lightning-bugs-nighttime-marvels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/?p=714","title":{"rendered":"Lightning Bugs: Nighttime Marvels"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Barb Elliot<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Magical creatures on the wing in my backyard fairyland \u2013 that\u2019s what I thought as a little kid.\u00a0 Even the fireflies I caught and put into a jar flashed miraculously.\u00a0 \u201cHow do they make that light?\u201d I wondered.\u00a0 Children universally love to watch these fascinating insects.\u00a0 In fact, it was kids from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania who successfully<\/p>\n

\"\u00a9<\/a>

\u00a9 Judd Patterson 2008. Click to enlarge image.<\/p><\/div>\n

campaigned to have the lightning bug named Pennsylvania\u2019s state insect in 1974.\u00a0 No longer a child myself, nevertheless, my backyard seems an enchanted place on summer evenings, with spots of light flashing from the ground to the treetops.<\/p>\n

Lightning bugs, or fireflies, are actually neither true bugs nor flies, but beetles.\u00a0 There are 2,000 different species worldwide, with 175 in North America and about 35 species in Pennsylvania.\u00a0\u00a0 The adults live for just two to four weeks, and must attract mates and<\/p>\n

\"Lightning<\/a>

Lightning bug in Barb’s yard. July 9, 2013. \u00a9 Barb Elliot. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

reproduce during that time.\u00a0 Scientists believe they eat pollen or nectar, though some may eat other small insects, or nothing at all. \u00a0Their flashes are courtship communications that enable the fireflies to find mates of their own species.\u00a0 They are also a warning to potential predators like birds and spiders that firefly bodies contain toxic chemicals.<\/p>\n

Each species has a characteristic flash pattern, with a different color, duration and\/or rhythm.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Females generally don\u2019t fly, but wait in grasses, shrubs, or trees to watch for the flash sequences of males of their own species.\u00a0 \u00a0When she spots a male of her species whose flashes she likes, the female flashes in response, inviting the male to come to her and mate.\u00a0 In late summer, females lay eggs on the soil, leaf<\/p>\n

\"Mating<\/a>

Mating fireflies in Barb’s yard. July 11, 2013. Photo \u00a9 Barb Elliot. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

litter or woody debris. Eggs
\nhatch in a few weeks and the larvae, sometimes called \u201cglow worms\u201d, live in leaf litter.\u00a0\u00a0 These voracious predators eat other insects, mites, aphids, earthworms,\u00a0 slugs and snails.\u00a0 Thus, they are quite useful in helping to control pests in the garden.\u00a0 They can even track down a slug or snail by detecting and following its\u00a0 slime trail. After injecting poison that immobilizes its quarry and liquefies internal\u00a0 organs, the firefly larva sucks out<\/p>\n

\"Firefly<\/a>

Firefly larva holding & eating slug. Image by Phillip, Kalamazoo, MI. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

and easily digests the victim.\u00a0 \u00a0In late fall, the larvae burrow under the bark of woody stems or into the soil, where they overwinter.\u00a0\u00a0 Re-emerging in spring,\u00a0 they again feed on invertebrates for a few weeks.\u00a0 They then re-enter the soil, pupate, and in\u00a0 early to mid-summer emerge as adult \u00a0fireflies.<\/p>\n

Intrigue and cunning among lightning bugs makes their world a dangerous place.\u00a0\u00a0 Just as the sirens of Greek mythology lured sailors to their deaths, females of the genus Photuris <\/span><\/i>mimic the flash of Photinus<\/span> <\/i>females in order to seduce Photinus<\/span> <\/i>males.\u00a0 When they trick a Photinus<\/span><\/i> male into coming to them, the Photuris <\/span><\/i>female eats the male.\u00a0 She gains energy to produce better and more eggs and incorporates the male Photinus<\/span>\u2019s\u00a0protective toxins.<\/p>\n

\"Common<\/a>

Common Eastern Firefly (Photinus pyralis). Photo by Terry Priest, 2009. Licensed under Creative Commons Share-alike. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

Some species have the capacity to produce light in all stages of their lifecycle \u2013 as eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults.\u00a0 The light is created by an enzyme in the firefly\u2019s tail that initiates a chemical
\nprocess called the luciferin-luciferase reaction.\u00a0 Their light production is almost 100%
\nefficient, with almost no heat lost as a by-product.\u00a0\u00a0 Researchers have been able to isolate the
\ngenes used for firefly\u2019s light and use them to track, mark, and assist in the killing of human cancer cells.\u00a0 In fact, biochemical companies have commercially harvested lightning bugs for their luciferin and luciferase.<\/p>\n

Firefly populations are declining in the U.S. and in many parts of the world.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Scientists are researching reasons for the decline of some populations.\u00a0 Certainly, a major threat is loss of habitat through development.\u00a0 Fireflies tend to show site fidelity — with generation after generation finding mates, laying eggs, and emerging in the same location every year.\u00a0 When such sites are lost, we lose that group of fireflies forever.<\/p>\n

Here are some actions we can take to ensure that we don\u2019t lose the lightning bugs where we live:<\/p>\n