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It's a sure sign of summer at Ask Yahoo! when firefly questions start flickering in. This week we netted two and decided to answer them together. We typed "fireflies" into Yahoo!'s search box and turned up a Fireflies category (under Insects > Beetles) -- a handpicked collection of firefly information from diverse web sites. At the Firefly Files we learned that there are over 2,000 species of these bioluminescent, nocturnal beetles. A member of the order Coleoptera, in the family Lampyridae, the firefly (aka lightning bug) produces a "cold light" in a specialized organ on the underside
of its abdomen. There, a substance called luciferin reacts with oxygen, which is breathed in through the abdominal trachea. It appears that male fireflies' flashing patterns are mating signals -- females seem to prefer the most rapidly flashing males. Some scientists also believe that the flashing warns off potential predators. Nevertheless, frogs have been known to gorge on a summer feast of fireflies until they themselves begin to glow. As for the eating habits of fireflies: no one is really sure. Some report that adults don't eat at all, others believe that they feed on nectar and pollen. Female fireflies lay eggs in the soil. Four weeks later larvae are born. These larvae feed on slugs and snails
over the summer, spend the winter in underground tunnels and emerge in the spring to eat again and transform into glowing bugs. Fireflies are found throughout tropical and temperate regions of the world. In the United States they live mostly east of the Mississippi. To attract fireflies to your backyard, try cutting down on lawn chemicals, reduce extra lighting that may interfere with their signaling, and plant tall grass or overhanging trees and shrubs to provide cool, moist, daytime shelter. In Japan, fireflies have become the cultural symbol for river protection and environmental conservation.
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