There are about 2,000 species worldwide, 200 in the U.S. and a dozen in Nebraska. “Firefly” is a misnomer; they are beetles.
Most common species: Photinus pyralis, known as the Big Dipper for the J it makes when flying upward. Fireflies live as adults only about six weeks, from mid-June to late July.
On a given night, 50 to 100 males are flying around looking for every female that is on the ground looking.
Fireflies are poisonous, so they have few predators, namely a few spiders and other firefly species. Fireflies themselves are predators, eating mites, aphids and other insects smaller than themselves.
How it glows: A firefly pushes oxygen into the light organ on the bottom of its abdomen, combining it with two essential chemicals, luciferin and luciferase. The mixture combines with two more chemicals, magnesium and ATP, resulting in a flash of several seconds. It’s a high-efficiency lantern, nearly 100% conversion of energy to light. A traditional light bulb, in comparison, yields about 10% light and 90% heat.
SOURCES: Creighton University professor Ted Burk; www.purdue.edu; iris.biosci.ohio-state.edu/projects/FFiles/
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