Described by poet David McCord as “little lanterns sailing by, like stars across a mimic sky”, the sight of fireflies lighting up the night as they search for mates is a shining example of a wildlife spectacle.
Fireflies are also known as ‘lightning bugs’ and ‘glow worms’, but these alternative names are as taxonomically illiterate as ‘fireflies’, since these illuminating insects are in fact beetles from the family Lampyridae. More than 2,000 species are currently described and many of them are capable of emitting light, with aerial displays recorded from Mexico to Malaysia and Japan to the Phillippines. However, fireflies are perhaps best known and have been most comprehensively studied in the USA.
The magic trick of bioluminescence is, of course, not confined to beetles, with certain fungi, jellyfish, shrimps and plankton also capable of manufacturing light, at least in some capacity. The beetles’ bioluminescence is created by a highly efficient chemical reaction that results in the release of light with little or no emission of heat. Referred to as a ‘cold light’, this contrasts with incandescent light bulbs, where 90 per cent of the energy used to create the light is in fact wasted as heat.
Did you know?
Adult fireflies are 5mm to 25mm in length. Unlike most beetles, which have hardened forewings (called elytra), their forewings are soft and flexible.
Dit verhaal komt uit de June 2024 editie van BBC Wildlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Al abonnee ? Inloggen
Dit verhaal komt uit de June 2024 editie van BBC Wildlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Al abonnee? Inloggen
WALKING WITH PENGUINS
Mourning her late husband, photographer Ursula Clare Franklin needed a new direction. Soon she was travelling the world, on a quest to photograph her favourite animal, the penguin all 18 species of them
"Satellites and space tech play a huge role in protecting the natural world"
Far above our heads, space technology is supporting conservation in exciting and vital ways
FOREVER YOUNG
The prehistoric-looking insect that never grows up
BIRDS THAT BREAK THE RULES
Discover the extraordinary birds that defy nature's norms
FEMALE OF THE SPECIES
Vampire bats make for blood-spewing besties
Onagers gallop back to Saudi Arabia
Rare subspecies fills the desert niche left by its extinct relative
Front lines for nature
Inside the ambitious UK project rallying local communities to fight for wildlife
"Europe seems hellbent on creating the most hostile environment for bears possible"
WE EUROPEANS ARE INCAPABLE of living alongside predators.
Airborne lifts off on Sky Nature
ACROSS THE PLANET, ANIMALS HAVE conquered the skies in ways we can only dream of.
CROSS COUNTRY
Translocating elephants is no mean feat-but it's helping this iconic mammal to reclaim its historic lands
