Common Eastern Firefly: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Beetles and Friends · day 5 of 7

Five facts

1. It is nicknamed the big dipper firefly: a male swoops in a J shape and lights up as he climbs.
2. A male flashes every 5 to 7 seconds, and a female answers 1 to 2 seconds later. On warmer nights, his flashes come faster.
3. Its larva can spend up to two years underground before changing into an adult, hunting worms, slugs and snails in the soil.
4. Chemicals in its body make it taste bad to birds and bats. But some other fireflies hunt it to take those chemicals for themselves.
5. Its glow comes from an enzyme called luciferase. Scientists now use this enzyme as a tool in many kinds of research.

The quiz

1. Why is it called the big dipper firefly?

• It lives near big lakes
• Males fly in a J shape while flashing (correct)
• It drinks from flowers
• It glows only in winter

Males swoop in a J shape and light up on the upswing.

2. What happens to a male's flashes on warmer nights?

• They stop
• They turn blue
• They come faster (correct)
• They get slower

The gap between flashes gets shorter as it gets warmer.

3. What does the firefly larva eat underground?

• Worms, slugs and snails (correct)
• Only tree roots
• Nothing at all
• Flower nectar

Underground, the larva hunts worms, slugs and snails.

4. Why do some other fireflies hunt this one?

• To steal its light organ
• To take over its burrow
• To learn its flash pattern
• To get its bad-tasting chemicals (correct)

Some Photuris fireflies prey on it to get its defensive chemicals.

5. What is the name of the enzyme that makes the firefly glow?

• Luciferase (correct)
• Chlorophyll
• Keratin
• Insulin

Luciferase is the light-making enzyme, now a common lab tool.

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