So you’ve heard of natural light, but have you heard of nature’s lights? Read more about fireflies and the light they give off, here!
Can you believe you’re about to read a blog post about bugs...on a lighting website?
Neither can I, because you’re not. Fireflies are not bugs. Now I know I’ve got you confused, so let me explain.
What Are Fireflies?
Most well known as fireflies or lightning bugs, these bioluminescent beetles light up all by themselves. But what exactly are they, and how do they do that?
Fireflies (belonging to the family Lampyridae) are neither flies nor bugs, as their names suggest; they are actually beetles. Like other beetles, fireflies go through a complete metamorphosis throughout their lifetime. This metamorphosis includes four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
Fireflies begin as eggs laid on the ground or shallowly buried below it, and progress through stages of development into larvae after roughly three to four weeks. During this time, they slightly resemble tiny worms. As larva, they spend the entire summer eating. Talk about a summer vacation?!
After spending their summer vegging out, they take a nice long nap. You know, because all of that eating put them into a bit of a food coma. On a serious note, after they have finished the summer as larvae, most species do hibernate all winter long.
They emerge in the spring to begin the next part of their development process: the pupa stage. At this point in their life, firefly larva spend a couple of weeks going through a drastic change. By either hanging themselves from a tree branch or digging a small mud chamber in the soil, the larva gets into position for it’s body to completely reconstruct.
When the firefly emerges as an adult ten days to two weeks after entering the pupa stage, it has had a massive glow-up. Once this happens, adult fireflies can vary widely in shape, size, and color.
How Do Fireflies Light Up?
The process that causes fireflies to illuminate is called bioluminescence.
Bioluminescence, disguised behind all those syllables, just means light produced by a living organism.
This light is produced when two chemicals in a firefly’s body, luciferin and luciferase, mix together in the presence of oxygen.
Why Do Fireflies Light Up?
Bear with me here, first I told you that fireflies aren’t bugs and now I am about to explain to you that the reason fireflies glow is kind of romantic. Speaking of romantic, do you know the history behind Valentine's Day? If you don't, check out this blog post.
The reason that fireflies give off light is to attract a mate. Adult fireflies only live for around two months so they really have to streamline the dating process. This is where the light comes in.
Fireflies flash their lights to find a mate. Generally, the male fireflies will flash the light in a pattern specific to their species, and an interested female will respond with the same pattern of flashing light. This way, the two can find each other in the dark.
So next time you see fireflies lighting up a forest or your backyard, just know you’re watching beetles speed dating. Whether that strikes you as weird or is something you already knew, there is no doubt that the light show they provide is extremely beautiful and memorable.
Where Can I Find Fireflies?
For many, a summer night filled with twinkly firefly lights is nostalgic. So now that we’ve established what fireflies are and how and why they give off light, let's touch on where can you see nature’s night lights in action.
In total, there are about 2,000 species of fireflies spanning the globe. They make their home on every continent except for Antarctica, and tend to densely populate warm, humid areas.
In the United States, fireflies are mostly found in the eastern half of the country during the months of May, June and July. They can be seen on summer evenings in meadows, gardens, parks, and woodland edges. The western United States’ climate does not appeal to them much. In fact, you'll be hard pressed to find one of these light-up beetles west of the state of Kansas.
Conclusion
Fireflies are not only reminiscent of summer, they are also fascinating creatures that produce light with a distinct purpose.
Click here to read about more animals that light up!
