Anyone who has ever seen at night a myriad of tiny lights dancing in a field or in a forest will not forget this bewitching sight. Want to take a closer look at the mysterious lanterns that adorn a summer night? This firefly is an insect that belongs to the family of beetles, the order of beetles, called in Latin Lampyridae.
Why do they glow?
Fireflies have their amazing ability to shine because they have special organs at the bottom of the abdomen, consisting of photogenic cells and reflectors below them, which are filled with uric acid crystals. Here oxidative processes occur that cause a glow. Light can be of varying strength and duration, but always greenish or red-yellow in color. They are used by insects both for protection against predators, warning them with a glow about their inedibility, and for attracting representatives of the opposite sex.
Firefly - insect of the night
Several species of fireflies live in our latitudes. One of them - Ivanovo worms - nocturnal insects that spend the day in dense grass and fallen leaves, and when night falls they go hunting. These fireflies live in the forest, where they hunt spiders, snails and small insects. The female Ivanovo worm cannot fly and is completely brown-brown, only three segments of the abdomen are white on the underside. They are the ones that shine brightly. Firefly is an insect with which you can even read by moving a live flashlight along the lines. And the fireflies living in the Caucasus glow in flight. These reddish sparkles, dancing in the thick darkness of the southern night, give it a special mystery and charm.
Mating season
At the moment when the mating time comes, the male firefly, whose photo you saw in the article, goes to search for a sign from the female who wants to continue the genus. And as soon as he finds one, he goes down to her. The fact is that different types of fireflies emit light at different frequencies, and this is the guarantee that representatives of the same species will mate with each other. Firefly is an insect in which the female chooses a partner. She defines it by the nature of the glow. The higher the frequency of his flicker, the brighter the light emanating from him, the more chances the male has to enchant his partner. In tropical forests, firefly males perform collective “serenades” for their ladies, simultaneously lighting and extinguishing their lanterns. Trees braided by such a “light music” shine brighter than shop windows in big cities. But there are cases of deadly mating games. The female uses the inviting light sign in order to attract males of a different species. When the seduced fertilizers appear, she simply eats them.
Procreation
Of the eggs that the female laid after fertilization, large, voracious larvae of black color with yellow spots appear. By the way, they also glow, like adults. By autumn, they hide in the bark of trees, where they remain for the whole winter. And next spring, when they wake up, they feed for several weeks, then pupate and after 1 - 2.5 weeks new adult fireflies develop from them, which can surprise us with their mysterious night radiance.
