Fireflies

Something we didn't have in Miami but we do have here are fireflies, or lightning bugs as I call them. I guess it was a few years ago when I found out that lightning bugs light because they are looking for a mate, but that's about all I know about them. So... I decided to do some research about them and let you guys know what I found.

This is an adult lightening bug.


*Around the world there are about 2000 different species of lightening bugs. Each species has its own flashing pattern so that two bugs of different species don't mate. Some lightening bug species don't flash at all.

*Lightening bug larvae are found underground and they eat slugs, earthworms, and snails. Adult lightening bugs (that live up to a couple of months) probably eat plant nectar. A few adult lightening bug species practice an especially tricky kind of cannibalism. Already-mated females emit flashes similar to the female responses to male Lightning Bugs of other species. When the male of the other species lands, the female emitting the false flashes pounces on the poor male and eats him!


This is a larvae.

*Fireflies were a part of Mayan mythology, often being associated with the stars. They also were associated with cigar smoking.. don't ask me how!

In addition to fireflies (or lightening bugs), Ben and I saw a bug in Miami once that was so unusual I set out to find out what it was. It is called an eyed click beetle.

The "eyes" are actually light organs on the insect's "shoulders," and have nothing to do with the vision of the beetle. If you flip one on its back, it will snap a spine into a groove on its "chest," propelling the insect into the air.. thus the name, click beetle. It will, after a couple tries or so, eventually land right side up! Amazing!