‘Cause I’d get a thousand hugs, from ten thousand lightning bugs…

I don’t know about you, but I’m over this winter. And now we have more snow coming to DC tonight – bleh! I am so ready to be sitting outside at Screen on the Green on a warm, humid night, with a lovely little picnic, some wine and my amazing friends! The next time you are doing something like that outside in the summer, point out the fireflies around you and then inform everyone with you how and why fireflies create their light…

Fireflies are actually nocturnal (roam the night) beetles (in the order Coleoptera) and are sometimes referred to as lightning bugs. There are approximately 2,000 species of fireflies around the world, but no matter where you find them, all of them create their light using a process called bioluminescence. In the abdomen of fireflies there are specialized light-emitting organs. Within these organs can be found an enzyme called luciferase. Luciferase mixes with another enzyme (luciferin) and if oxygen is also present, some basic (but too technical for this post) chemistry occurs and then, voila, the firefly has a butt that is glowing! Very simple mechanism: two enzymes and oxygen. Uric acid containing cells in the abdomen act like mirrors and help reflect the light out and away from the firefly’s body. Although scientists know how the light is made, it is still unclear how fireflies regulate the light.

Each species of firefly has a unique flashing pattern that they use to attract a mate. Depending on the species, the flashes can range from quick flashes to long light burst. Some species of tropical fireflies can even get together and synchronize their flashes. While still a baby (larval) firefly, the flash is a way to keep away predators.

To be completely fair, I have to say there are a few species of firefly that are diurnal (they roam about during the day and night) and most of them do not produce any light. Why would you if you lived during the day? The ones that do still produce light tend to stay in the shade of trees.

Totally unrelated, but still a fun fact: Female fireflies deposit their eggs underground. When the larval fireflies hatch they stay underground and eat worms and slugs by injecting them with a numbing solution. When they grow into adults they eat pollen and nectar and some stop eating altogether.