There are more than 125
species of fireflies in the United States. They typically emerge
in mid-summer, tiny twinkling yellow lights flitting thru fields,
woods and suburban lawns. These magical lights of our childhood,
are in reality a complex system scientists still don't completely
understand.

Their
controlled flash is a sort of insectile Morse Code - a particular signal from the flying male
beckoning to the female that usually remains stationary near the
ground or in a tree. When she sees a male's light she flashes a
response. Flashing back and forth, male and female ensure that
they are both of the same species before their mating ritual
proceeds. The eggs the female lays - just under the soil surface
- also are bioluminescent (a fancy word for the emission of light
from a living thing)!

Tiny larvae hatch in two to
three weeks equipped with what appear to be two tiny lanterns on
the underside of the tail. After living in the leaf litter for
two years, eating small snails and worms, they curl into a
igloo-like dirt shelter and after about two and a half weeks
metamorphose into adults.

Adult fireflies usually
don't eat, and during their short life - only about three weeks -
they create a dreamlike light display at night - one we tend to
forget until joyfully revisited one evening!