Facts about Fireflies
A group of Fireflies is called a sparkle.
Fireflies are not flies at all; they are beetles. They are also called lightning bugs.
The female lays her fertilized eggs on or just below the surface of the ground or leaf litter.
In some species of fireflies, the eggs glow. The eggs hatch three to four weeks later to become larvae.
The larvae look like little fat worms with six legs. They can stay underground through the winter. As a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, the firefly larvae will form a cocoon and, about two weeks later, emerge as a firefly with wings. Some fireflies are larvae for several weeks and others for two or more years.
There are about 2400 different species of fireflies. All fireflies glow as larvae, but not all shine as adults. The glowing chemical in the fireflies’ bodies is called bioluminescence, which is being used in medical research today. Some scientists use the chemical for testing and detecting energy problems in human cells to study cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and other diseases.
Fireflies are on all continents except Antarctica. They emerge in the summer and love warm, humid areas. They need a moist environment to survive.
Most fireflies are nocturnal, so they are most active during the night.
Some species of firefly larvae are generally aquatic—they even have gills—while others live almost entirely in trees.
Fireflies taste horrible to predators like birds and mice. When eaten, they release a bitter defensive chemical that helps to keep predators away.
The firefly’s flash can be yellow, green, or blue. Fireflies are only about 1/2 inch long and have very large eyes to see the flashes of other fireflies.
The larvae hunt snails, slugs, and other insects at night. Instead of fighting their prey, they bite it and inject it with a liquid that keeps them from moving.
During the light of the day, fireflies keep low to the ground, and when the sun begins to set, they climb higher. Fireflies climb tall grass to launch from.
Fireflies’ eyes are particularly sensitive to certain kinds of artificial light. The new LED streetlights, which are longer-lasting and thus environmentally beneficial, are likely to disrupt the fireflies more than old-fashioned sodium streetlights due to their blueish light.
Fireflies and their larvae help to control garden pests like sails, slugs, cutworms and aphids.
How can you help the fireflies?
1. Please turn off the lights around your property and use motion-detector lights that only come on when you need them. Light pollution harms fireflies.
2. Leave an area in your yard where you do not rake up or disturb the leaf litter. Fireflies lay their eggs under the leaves.
3. Do not use pesticides and chemicals in your lawn and garden. Firefly larvae feed on slugs and snails.