Fireflies may look like simple summer-night light shows, but each has its own flash pattern used to find mates in tall grass near damp areas, says columnist<\/p>\n
I can be so easily distracted.<\/p>\n
There I was, ankle-deep in water, surrounded by four species of orchids, pitcher plants, and three species of bladderwort, all in full and spectacular bloom, and what was I doing? Zeroing in on a small beetle climbing up the sturdy stem of some non-descript grass.<\/p>\n
Not that the wildflowers were being ignored, as they were what initially drew me to visit this unique wetland, it being a large fen tucked on the side of a much larger marsh, surrounded by numerous swamps of various kinds. It\u2019s a place I refer to as heaven on Earth; others simply call it the Wye Valley.<\/p>\n
OK, back to the beetle in question (see, I was distracted already, and that was only the second paragraph). What caught my attention, as I knelt in the water trying to get a close-up photo of a rose pogonia orchid, was the almost frantic climbing of this beetle up and down the nearby grasses.<\/p>\n
Up it would go, snap open its wings, flutter down to another grass stalk, and up it would race again. But what was really noteworthy was the bright white patch at the end of its body.<\/p>\n
This little critter was what many people would call a firefly, what some other people would call a lightning bug, and what very few people would call (at least in general party conversation) a member of the order Coleoptera, family Lampyridae. Way cool, as I hadn\u2019t seen one for the past few years.<\/p>\n
Despite the common names, this insect is neither a fly nor a bug, as it has two hard wing covers (called elytra) that, while at rest, fully cover the body; that makes it a beetle, a member of the large order of insects called Coleoptera. Flies have two naked wings, and bugs have their wings only half covered by elytra …\u00a0so now you know.<\/p>\n
I would guess that most readers have seen fireflies blinking and glowing on a summer\u2019s eve, often within the tall grass that lines streams and damp areas. The chemical reaction that creates the glow is pretty fascinating stuff, and how it is used in even more of an exciting story.<\/p>\n
Unlike the old incandescent light bulb on the front porch, which produced 90 per cent\u00a0heat and 10 per cent\u00a0light, a firefly produces 100 per cent\u00a0light and no heat.<\/p>\n
Understandably, the chemicals used to produce this light have been studied in detail by scientists, with the result being not better light bulbs, but tracking material used to study cancer cells and other anomalies within our body. This luciferase is also used to detect blood clots, tag tuberculosis virus cells, and to monitor hydrogen peroxide levels (thought to be associated with diabetes).<\/p>\n
But what of its intended use, to attract the opposite sex for purposes of mating? Sorry guys, no human applications that I know of … yet. But read on, maybe you don\u2019t want to fall for the flashing light after all.<\/p>\n
Both male and female fireflies can create flashes, a kind of \u201chere I am, I see you\u201d methodology of finding true love. There are 23 species of fireflies in eastern Canada, and each has a special Morse-code kind of communication within each species.<\/p>\n
The females wait in the long grasses while the flying males cruise by overhead, flashing their \u2018twinkle butts\u2019 in a series of on-off bursts; when a compatible male goes by, lady firefly fires up her behind to match the pattern. And faster than you can say \u201cInternet Match-mate\u201d the bond is sealed.<\/p>\n
However, if you are a female firefly of the genus Photuris, you have another trick up your sleeve, or in your behind so to speak. These insect ladies have discovered that if they match the blink pattern of another firefly species they can lure the males close to them …\u00a0for supper!<\/p>\n
After said compatible mating comes egg laying, a process carried out near streams and ponds. Both the eggs and the hatching larva may glow, a trait that has scientists puzzled as to reason why. The nickname \u2018glow worm\u2019 is applied to these bright grubs discovered in damp soil.<\/p>\n
The diet of a firefly often includes snails, with both larva and adults being capable of attacking and eating these small crustaceans; worms, too, apparently. I\u2019ll wager you didn\u2019t know that prior to reading this.<\/p>\n
Perhaps you, like me, have read stories of Chinese children capturing fireflies and creating a hand lantern by putting them in a jar. We tried that here but didn\u2019t get much of a glow emitting from the glass chamber.<\/p>\n
Turns out that the species of firefly found in China is capable of emitting a continuous glow while our local fireflies just do the blinky-butt thing. Bummer. Grandchild not nearly as impressed as grandfather had hoped he would be.<\/p>\n
Speaking of which, we recently found a monarch caterpillar the other day, quite large and ready to pupate. It was scooped into a large jar and within a day it had turned into a magnificent green chrysalis.<\/p>\n
What is way cool about this process is that … what? Oh yeah, fireflies, this column is about fireflies. No, actually it was to be about orchids …\u00a0in fens. Seems I got distracted again.<\/p>\n
David J. Hawke is a freelance writer and naturalist who lives in rural North Simcoe County. He has been continuously creating weekly nature stories since 1989\u2026 and thinks that there are still many more topics to cover!<\/p>\n
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