Games | Things to Do | Kids Only
Humans may turn out the lights when they're ready to mate, but the soft-bodied beetles known as fireflies do just the opposite. As the sun sets, females come out from their burrows and perch on vegetation. Males fly around, flashing their unique codes at certain intervals, looking for answering flashes from females. They must watch each other's signals carefully. In a single meadow or backyard in the eastern United States, where fireflies are most common, several dozen species may share the same airspace.
The female looks for the code unique to her species, and may wait for an extra flashy suitor (a particularly fast flasher, for instance). She can afford to be picky--for every female there are 50 males. When one strikes her fancy, she flashes back. There may be some back-and-forth signaling--after all, the male has to find her--then the male lands next to her and they will mate.
Males also have to be on the lookout for females of one particular species that just happen to enjoy the taste of other fireflies. These crafty, larger females can imitate the flashing codes of four other varieties of fireflies. When an unsuspecting suitor lands, it's too late--he's dinner.
The chemicals responsible for these spectacular light shows are called luciferin and luciferase. Combined with oxygen in the firefly's abdomen, they create light (ranging from clear yellow to greenish white to orange) with virtually no heat. The light generated by these built-in beacons is so intense that the glow of a single courting male (if sustained) would provide enough light to enable someone to read a newspaper in the dark.
by Zooba.com
What you need to do is sit outside one night and watch the fireflies and see if you can determine which ones are talking to each other.
|
||
|
Copyright © 2001-, Terry Muse Revised: April 2, 2002 URL: http://crafts_and_kids.tripod.com/ http://mounthollynj.tripod.com http://seaside_park_nj.tripod.com http://westlake_village_md.tripod.com Contact: Terry J. Muse |
 |
 |