Lightning Bugs are NOT Strictly Nocturnal

No kidding. Turns out in terms of circadian categories, there's more than just "nocturnal" and "diurnal"; there's also "crepuscular", which refers to animals that are most active at twilight. Most of the world's 200 species of lightning bugs are actually crepuscular, not nocturnal.

The more you learn about lightning bugs, the more magical they seem. 

First of all, their bio-luminescence is among the most efficient light production on the planet; 96% of the energy goes to making light.
Plus they don't bite, sting, or pinch, don't carry disease, are in no way toxic, and are actually useful to science and medicine, bless their little blinking bottoms.


Another cool thing- lightning bugs sometimes flash in unison, which must be a sight to behold. 

Occasionally a clap of thunder will set them all off. And some South American species always flash in unison. (Maybe they could get work at raves!)

Generally, lightning bugs flash about every 5.5 seconds, but more frequently in warmer weather.


There are about 50 male beetles for every one female. And the much sought-after females are flightless; they just climb up to the tips of blades of grass and blink seductively, waiting for a mate and/or a meal*. (*Often after mating, the femme fatale beetle insists on having him for dinner, literally...)


But it's not easy getting to be a lightning bug in the first place, even for the females; they must all spend years as larvae (in this case, glow worms), living just under the top layer of soil (or sometimes under loose tree bark). These larvae are especially voracious eaters, sucking the insides out of snails and efficiently devouring other larvae dwelling in the subsoil as well as pollen and whatever. They crawl in the mud and feast like this for years, until it's time to make a round mudball for the pupate stage, which is relatively brief, about 2 weeks.


And after all that (after the larval and pupate stages are completed), the newly emerged adult flying beetles we recognize as lightning bugs only live from a few days to a few weeks at the most.


So basically those tiny lights you see strobing gently on summer evenings each had to endure years in the mud for the brief privilege of flying around, blinking, and making baby lightning bugs. So please let's not be encouraging our kids to catch them in jars; they're on a strict schedule, so let 'em be. 

Admire them from afar, not in a jar....