NATURE'S HELPER Sunny A Ryerson, B.C.E., Consulting Entomologist

129 East Pine St Suite A Ponchatoula LA 70454 Phone: 504-386-5844 E Mail: The Lady Bug.

On a recent evening, I saw a lone firefly which took me back to my childhood. I have always been mesmerized by the blinking summer lights of these beetles, but it was not until I entered graduate school that I understood the mystery of these beetles.

Fireflies are beetles, not flies. They are predacious. They eat other insects. We are lucky because we have several different species locally, with different flashing light codes that can be seen at various several times during the late spring and summer. Fireflies are easy to catch and do not bite. The light that fireflies produce is their personal signal that they are ready to mate. Each species of fireflies has its own blinking code. The light the firefly produces is made within its body by combing oxygen, from the equivalent of lungs, luciferin, a chemical in its posterior end, and an enzyme called lucirferase. When all three ingredients mix together, light is produced. The light is cold light and will not burn you. The phenomenon is called bioluninescence.

A gentleman firefly makes his flying voyage at night and blinks to the available lady firefly of the same species to signal his interest. If she is interested, she will flash her light code back to him. He will then fly down and land beside her, and they will mate. Eggs are produced, a new batch of fireflies will be born, and we will enjoy their delightful light. Sometimes the story changes. Some of the females have a trick up their wings, so to speak. A male of one species will flash his code, and a female of a different species will flash the male's same code back to him. He flies to her, lands ready to mate, and she has tricked him. He becomes her dinnner for that evening. Isn't nature interesting?

With more conscientious use of pesticides in our area, we are enjoying an increase of these lovely lighted beetles. We are passing along the nighttime light mystery to a new generation of children.