10 FIREFLY FACTS
1. THEY ARE ACTUALLY NOT FLIES - THEY ARE BEETLES:
When taken a close look at the fireflies we will find that they are not exactly flies but beetles. They have hardened fore-wings called ELYTRA which they use for balance while in flight.
2. A FIREFLIES GLOW IS A CHEMICAL REACTION - THIS MAKES THEM BIO-LUMINESCENT:
According to LIVE SCIENCE, the light is produced when oxygen is mixed with a pigment called LUCIFERIN, an enzyme called LUCIFERASE, and a chemical that provides cells with energy called ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE. The final part of the formula is uric acid crystals, which are located in the cells that make the light and shine the light away from the firefly's body. The light-emitting part of the firefly is called a photic organ.
3. MALES FOCUS ON FINDING A MATE:
All their night flights, the brightness of their glow, and their flashing patterns is for REPRODUCTION. They do all this with an intention to mate. Typically, the females sit immobile, and only flash back when they see a male with a particularly impressive display.
4. EACH SPECIES HAS ITS OWN FLASH PATTERN:
As males fly through the air searching for a mate, each uses a FLASH FINGERPRINT specific to its species.According to the American Museum Of Natural History,
"Males fly through the air and search for females with a species-specific light display. Some flash only once. Some emit "FLASH TRAINS" of up to nine carefully timed pulses. Others fly in specific aerial patterns, briefly dipping before sharply ascending and forming a "J" of light. A few even shake their abdomens from side to side and appear to be twinkling.Scientists use these patterns to determine how many species are in an area.
5. SOME SYNC UP:
Called "SIMULTANEOUS BIO-LUMINESCENCE" by scientists, the phenomenon of fireflies flashing in unison only happens in two places in the world - South East Asia
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennesssee
6. FLASHING FIREFLIES ALMOST DON'T EXIST WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS:
There are a few rare exceptions, but for the most part, flashing fireflies don't live west of the Rockies because of particular reason. Whereas flashing fireflies communicate with their flickers, non-flashing ones use phermones to stay in touch with one another.
7. THEY CAN BE POISONOUS:
Not only do fireflies taste nasty, they can actually kill. When predators attack them, fireflies kick in to a process called "REFLEX BLEEDING." They shed drops of blood that contain bitter-tasting chemicals that are poisonous to vertebrates, including lizards and sometimes birds. They are not so great for humans, either. When Scientidt Marc Branham with the American Museum of Natural History gently put a firefly he had caught in a net between his lips, " Both lips went numb. Then my throat constricted. They really taste sort of astringent. I quickly put them into my jar and I haven't done that since.
8. IN MUCH OF EUROPE, FEMALE FIREFLIES DON'T ACTUALLY FLY:
European female fireflies remain flightless into adulthood and take on the form of a worm that glows rather than flashes.
9.FEMALE FIREFLIES CAN BE CANNIBALISTIC:
In general, fireflies don't feed, but when they do, they tend to eat mites or pollen. The femme fatales of the genus Photuris like the taste of their own. Using "AGGRISSIVE MIMICRY,"the female of this particular subfamily waits for a male firefly to flash, then imitates that male's flash pattern, suggesting that she is a receptive mate. After luring him in, she chows down.
10. THE LARVAE AREN'T A PICNIC, EITHER:
These glowing worms will follow the slime trails of snails and slugs, paralyze them with a bite, and chow down.
