Fireflies

Have you ever looked outside on a summer night and seen little lights glimmering across the field?  Maybe you’ve even gone out to search for fireflies to put in a jar for a while.  These incredible insect critters aren’t really flies or just regular bugs.  Let’s see what makes them so so special!

Grab some night vision goggles and maybe a bug catcher.  Let’s hit the night time trail!

Critter At A Glance

What makes them so different from regular bugs or flies?  These little guys are something special.  They are actually part of the beetle family!  Just like ladybugs, they have wings that can fold into hard cases on their backs, called elytra.  

Where can we find them?  There are more than 2,000 species of fireflies and they can be found all over the world.  The only continent without them is…

You guessed it, ANTARCTICA!  This continent is just too cold. 

How do their lights work?  Not all fireflies light up, but those that do use bioluminescence.  Two chemicals called oxygen and calcium work together to make a chemical reaction.  This gives off the light we see on these critters.  

Have you heard the story about Caleb the firefly?

Are you ready for an out of this world fact?  

When fireflies are attacked they actually do something called “reflex bleeding.”  This is when they make their body drop tiny drops of blood so they taste TERRIBLE.  This can be poisonous to some animals as well, so it’s a way they can protect themselves from being eaten.  

Critter Protectors we need you! 

Don’t go another minute without joining the CritterQ.  

We challenge you to IMAGINE today. 

Can you pretend what it is like to be a firefly?  Grab a flashlight and a friend.  Try and flash your lights to each other across a dark or dim room.  Can you communicate with your light?  

Did you give this challenge a try? Don’t forget to share! #heymrjim

McKinley, Cheyenne. “11 Cool Things You Never Knew about Fireflies.” Scientific American Blog Network, Scientific American, 16 May 2019, https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/11-cool-things-you-never-knew-about-fireflies/. 

“How and Why Do Fireflies Light up?” Scientific American, Scientific American, 5 Sept. 2005, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-and-why-do-fireflies/. 

“Facts about Fireflies & Lightning Bugs.” Firefly.org, 15 Nov. 2018, https://www.firefly.org/facts-about-fireflies.html.