Fireflies have dramatic life cycle

I was surrounded by predators. A few months ago, they were injecting paralyzing saliva into their prey, eating it alive by turning flesh into liquid, then drinking it. If a snail were dinner, only the shell would remain.

Welcome to the firefly world, where reality is courtship, sex and a chance to be eaten by your own kind. Am I ruining any childhood fantasies?

Americans find fireflies in films and fairy tales. Peter Pan’s Tinkerbell may have been inspired by a firefly. As a child, I dashed around the acre with my quart jar and lid with holes in it, catching my share of lightning bugs. Sex and liquefying flesh were not part of that childhood tradition. But I’m an adult, now, visiting my Maryland childhood home, eating blue crabs piled on newspaper and watching the light show with different eyes.

Those fascinating blinking lights are produced by males on the prowl, signaling to attract females. The bright yellow-green signals are species specific, patterns of light that can be identified with a species by number and speed of pulses. Females may be attracted to those males who flash at the highest rates.

The light is created by an enzyme and chemical reaction in light organs on the last segment of the abdomen. Fireflies of some species can even synchronize their flashes. Wouldn’t that be a sight? Although several bioluminescent species may be lighting up at dusk, females can sort them out. If a male’s signal is particularly attractive, she will let him know with a pulse of light (usually just one or two).

The chosen one, usually flying three to six feet above the ground, immediately lands in the area of the come-hither signal (females rarely fly; some are wingless). The male is rarely on target, necessitating more flashing dialogue as the male climbs over grass blades until he reaches the female.

Unfortunately, sometimes other males cash in and beat him to the prize.

There’s also a danger of single-mindedness. Females of a few firefly species, including Photuris, often mimic the flash pattern of other species’ female fireflies. The male automatically expects a hot time lasting hours but turns into a menu item when eaten by that treacherous female.

Adult fireflies live a few weeks to a year, depending on the climate. Generally, the blinking light stage is but a small portion of the cycle, about two weeks, although in some climates, can be longer.

Eggs are laid in leaf litter, moist soil or even under tree bark. A few weeks later, glowing carnivorous larvae, also called glowworms, come out and start eating a diet of earthworms, slugs, even snails.

The well-fed larvae pupates; later three-quarter-inch fireflies emerge.

While most fireflies are found east of the Mississippi, there are periodic reports of fireflies in the Northwest.

Fireflies have other uses than childhood entertainment. They’ve been important factors in genetic engineering, waste-water treatment, and cancer research. That’s all well and good but I still prefer keeping a bit of magic in the experience of being surrounded by fireflies.

Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com