BEETLES

Pyralis Firefly, Photinus pyralis

Order: Coleoptera (Beetles)

Size: Up to 1⁄2"

Habitat: Meadows, swamps

Range: Eastern and Central United States

Fireflies, also known as “lightning bugs,” are actually a kind of small beetle. They are most active on spring and summer nights, when they delight viewers with blinking flashes of light, the pattern of which varies with different species. A special chemical process in the last sections of the abdomen creates this yellow-green glow, and it is found in the larvae as well. The body is soft and elongate, with small legs and a large pronotum (top of the thorax) that conceals the head when seen from above. The back is black with thin, orange stripes down the center and sides. The pronotum is yellow around the edges with a red interior, and has a black mark in the center. Adults rarely feed, but larvae prey on small insects, slugs, and worms, which they find under logs and in moist leaf litter.