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Why do fireflies glow? |
Bugs, Snails, Worms
Fireflies are the Glow Pro! The reason they're able to glow is that they contain a special chemical that allows them to shine. The chemical has a funny name: Lucibufagens!
(Or, sometimes, luciferins.) When a firefly inhales air into its body, it reacts with the lucibufagens to make light!
Being able to glow has several benefits for fireflies. One thing it helps them with is scaring off animals who might try to eat them. The lucibufagen chemical makes a firefly taste yucky, so an animal who has tried a Firefly Dinner before will learn to stay away. Fireflies also use their glowing light to communicate and blink out certain messages! One thing this helps them with is attracting a mate: Different types of fireflies glow in different ways, so each firefly looks the glow of the kind of mate it needs! - Shine on!
Talk like a firefly!
You and some friends can pretend to talk like fireflies!
Find a room where you can turn off the lights, and gather together with one flashlight for each person. Decide on some meanings for different types of movements you can make with the beam of the flashlight. For example, maybe waving the light across the wall in one direction means “hello,” while waving it in the other direction means “goodbye”. One blink of light can mean “yes” while two blinks can mean “no”!
Give yourselves special Firefly Names and see if you can carry on a special Firefly Chat!
