Seeing a firefly always takes me back to being a young girl playing outside in the summer until Mom would drag me in around dusk. After dinner I'd always go back outside and watch the fireflies in the backyard. Here are a few interesting facts about my favorite summer insect..
- 100% of their energy is emitted as light and produces no heat- impressive!
- Fireflies are carnivorous- some species eat other fireflies
- The lifespan of a firefly is pretty brief- just long enough to mate and lay eggs
- Fireflies imitate each other's lights
- Fireflies are found on every continent except Antarctica.
- Two chemicals found in a firefly's tail, luciferase and luciferin, light up in the presence of ATP. If these chemicals are injected into diseased cells, they can detect changes that can be used to study many diseases like cancer.
- Fireflies don't taste good- they admit chemicals that taste bitter and could be poisonous to some animals.
- The fireflies light is used to communicate with one another.. sometimes to find a mate, sometimes to warn of predators.
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