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zooophagous · 2 years

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A lot of folks don't think fireflies are real, but did you know: glow worms are also real.

Phengodes Plumosa; photos shared with permission via Brody Stanfield (Facebook)

#glow worm #bioluminescence #fireflies

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mishapeep · 17 days

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Uh, I saw your post and you mentioned that you teach the kids... how do I put it... that are given to you at social functions due your park ranger aura for safekeeping how to tell the difference between predatory lightning bugs and normal lightning bugs.

And then you didn't tell us that secret! May I ask you to share the difference between predatory lightning bugs and normal ones?

Thank you very much :)

By popular demand and because this was the most polite ask: how to tell the predatory lightning bugs from the non-predatory lightning bugs.

First, there are over 2000 species in Lampyridea. I am not qualified to distinguish between all that. I grew up in Northern Ohio (71 species) and every year summer wasn’t official until the lightning bugs came out in the evenings (usually the first or second week of June).

This is our first clue. The first lightning bugs out each evening are a species of non-predatory chaps. Their glow goes in a special pattern. Flash, pause, “J” shaped flight about 2 -3’ off the ground. Repeat. Their glow is more yellow and lingers. These are the males of Photinus pyralis or the common eastern firefly. They look like this:

(Photo from iNaturalist: a lightning bug beetle, mostly black with gold lines around the wing casing. Head shield is yellow with a red “eye” with black iris in the center. Rounded front and back, long down the center.)

Their females hide in tall grasses waiting for the right suitor. If you’re lucky and clever you can see her dimmer flash in the grass beaconing the males closer.

As the dark of night progresses you’ll start to see a quicker, brighter, greener flash. Blip, blip, blip, blip, long pause. They are FAST! They’ll also mimic the flashes of Photinus females. These are usually higher up off the ground. Even in the trees! These lightning bugs aren’t looking for love.

Photuris (not gonna get to specific epitaph on this one without a sample and a key) are looking for dinner!

(Photo from blog.greatparks.org another lightning bug beetle. This one is slightly larger than the non-predatory bug. It has “shoulders” and extra gold lines running through the back. Its legs are longer and its shield is more “sharp”. The shield marking is less like an eye and more like a yellow D where the inside is a red triangle with a black line running through.)

Another way to tell is to go out at night and catch a bunch of lightning bugs (if you can; I hear they’re getting scarce). Offer them a slice of apple. If you wake up in the morning to only a few and the rest are dead, good chance you found some predators. (This is how I found out about them! Wooops!!)

Lightning bugs are freaking magical. I’m so sad to hear that they are yet another wonder that we are losing at an alarming rate. If this bugs you as much as it bugs me there are a few things you can do to help them:

1) do not spray for mosquitoes! That spray is not-species specific. It’s bad for lightning bugs. It’s bad for monarch butterflies. It’s bad for birds. It’s bad for bats. It’s bad.

2) kill your lawn. But Misha! You said they breed in the grasses! True! However native plants are going to provide so much more habitat for these guys than a gross monoculture of Kentucky bluegrass ever will. The Midwest has some of the best native plant nurseries in the country! Use that resource!

3) Advocate for them and donate to conservation if you’re able. Bugs don’t have voices and they fight an uphill battle just for being a bug.

Thanks for joining my ranger talk! Support your parks.

#lightning bug #fireflies #firefly #glow worm #bug #bugs #beetles

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layaart · 11 months

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cave creatures

#I don't think I ever posted this one...#cave #insects #bugs #glow worm #glowworm #aotearoa #nature #cave weta #spider #spiders #nature art #original

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kidcore-nostalgia · 23 days

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Glo Worm and Glo Friends ✨

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gifs-of-puppets · 4 months

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2023 Muppet Year in Review: The Jim Henson's Company's improv comedy show Puppet Up! Uncensored returned for more live performances this year, adding two newly-staged versions of classic sketches originally performed by Jim Henson to its lineup.

#puppet up #puppet up uncensored #jim henson #the jim henson company #glow worm #monster #muppet #muppets #the miskreant puppets #gif #muppet gif #muppets gif #gifs of puppets #2023 in review

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danskjavlarna · 4 months

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Source details and larger version.

If you like fairies or are one, here's my current collection of vintage fairy imagery.

#glow worm #fairy #vintage illustration #illustration

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maytraparts · 1 month

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- Welcome to the Deep -

Character credits go to @meowtheninjas

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majormeilani · 1 month

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i was gonna color this wormie animal ver but i didn't trust myself to do it on paper but i'm do some digital colorizing 2morrow

#ahit oc #glow worm #wormie #since she's already a human i species swapped her to an animal #she also would be able to shift into a tiny bat form rather than being anthro #doodle

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gatorstims · 2 years

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A Warden (Minecraft) Stimboard for anon!

🔹 🌑 🔹 | 🌑 🔹 🌑 | 🔹 🌑 🔹

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feather-bone · 1 year

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Firefly ! 💡

[ID: a symmetrical illustration of a firefly from the top down, with its withs partially open and its thorax lit up in a bright yellow glow. It is on a bright reddish orange background. End.]

#bugs #firefly #insects #glow worm #lightning bug #daily creature #animals

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callunavulgaris · 1 year

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