They are much larger than their male counterparts and lack wings. Females of the Lamprigera firefly can grow to be the size of your palm. How they identify their incapacitated prey and emerge from the web unscathed remain unanswered questions. Predatory femme fatales have been caught stealing wrapped fireflies from spider’s webs, a behavior called kleptoparasitism. Preying on the males of other species allows Photuris females to acquire their toxins, called lucibufagins, which the females then deposit into their eggs as a chemical defense.įemme fatales sneak onto spider webs to steal prey. Thus duped, a male will serve as the main entree for her dinner. By mimicking the flash patterns of other firefly species, the female lures unsuspecting males in closer. Unlike most species, these fireflies eat as adults. The females of one group of fireflies, called Photuris, have earned the nickname femme fatales. This means that the fireflies you see in your backyard this summer are the result of successful matings from 2017 and they will be the parents of fireflies that you will not see flashing until 2021.įirefly femme fatales lure unsuspecting males of other species to their deaths. Adults may live only a couple of weeks, and most do not eat during this time-they just mate, lay eggs and die. They can spend up to two years in this larval stage before metamorphosing into adults. The armored, grub-like larvae are vicious predators, tracking down and consuming slugs, snails and earthworms. While not all adults emit light, all fireflies have glowing larval stages. Instead, these “dark” fireflies use airborne smells, such as pheromones, to communicate.įireflies spend most of their life in the larval stage. While all fireflies light up in their larval forms, there are many species of fireflies that do not use light as an adult mating signal. Each species has its own pattern-a code that lets individuals identify appropriate mates of the same species. They will engage in this twinkling “conversation” until the male locates the female and they mate. If a female waiting in the grass or bushes likes what she sees, she responds back with a flash of her own. They flash a specific pattern while they fly, hoping for a female reply. The flashes that you see in your yard are generally from males looking for females. In fact, you are probably looking at multiple species when you are watching them in your own yard.įlashes are the firefly language of love. There can be many species sharing just one habitat. Fireflies are found all over the world, on every continent except Antarctica-and they are incredibly diverse. There are more than 2,000 species of firefly worldwide. The elytra open for liftoff like gull-wing doors on a car, freeing the wings for flight. Like other beetles, fireflies have a pair of hardened wing cases, called elytra, that the wings fold underneath. Instead they are beetles, just like ladybugs and rhinoceros beetles. Whether you call them fireflies or lightning bugs, these insects are neither flies nor true bugs. As summer approaches, here are 11 cool things about fireflies that you might not know.įireflies are beetles. Yet our flashy friends have a dark side that includes little-known tales of deception, poisoning and death. Perhaps because we are so familiar with them, either from growing up chasing them or seeing them portrayed in art, film and books, we may think that we know all about these simple insects.

With firefly season almost upon us, their enchanting light displays will soon spark our curiosity and capture our imaginations. The flashes of fireflies on a warm summer night remind many of us of our carefree childhood sense of wonder.

Lightning bugs locations