Whether you are lucky enough to see them in your backyard or plan to head to a local spot for prime viewing, lightning bugs are synonymous with summer. Let's illuminate some little-known truths about these fascinating, glowing creatures.
What's the Real Name?
More than 2,000 species of lightning bugs and fireflies exist worldwide, including 170 in North America. According to Adele Wellman, Allegany region environmental educator for New York State Parks, calling them either fireflies or lightning bugs is fine. "There is no difference between them; they are the same insects," she says.
Though both names are correct, these flashers are technically neither bugs nor flies. Instead, they are beetles. Next time you've got one in your hands, look closely for hardened wing cases, the elytra. This is a key beetle characteristic.
Growing Up
"Fireflies go through complete metamorphosis," Adele says. "They lay eggs in moist areas, and these hatch in about two weeks. The larvae grow for months, pupate underground or beneath tree bark, and then transform into adults."
Adulthood is short-lived for these beetles. Most adult fireflies survive for just days or weeks.
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Esta historia es de la edición August/September 2022 de Birds & Blooms.
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Sense or Nonsense? - Why some birds can taste and smell - but others can't
Does a porcelain berry taste like a blueberry to a gray catbird? Does a block of lard smell like frying bacon to a northern flicker? The short answer is no. While some avian species do have a well-adapted sense of taste or smell, they can't distinguish between flavors and odors the way humans can. They're not picking up every ingredient in the suet you put out, says José Ramírez-Garofalo, an ornithology researcher at Rutgers University in New Jersey and the director of Freshkills Biological Station in Staten Island, New York.
Maple Mania - Amazing facts about this fall foliage mainstay
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Even if you haven't heard of Canada jays, you've heard of their relatives. Members of the corvid family, they belong to the same group as American crows, blackbilled magpies, and jays including blue, Steller's and scrub. "Unlike many of the other jays, a Canada jay doesn't have a crest of any kind; it just has a rounded head," says Dale Gentry, director of conservation for Audubon Upper Mississippi River.In 2018, the Canada jay's name was changed from gray jay, but Dale thinks the former adjective was fitting. "Most of its body is shades of gray with some white," he says. "There are different subspecies that have different physical traits, but most of them have some lighter coloring on their foreheads, upper breasts and throats, each with a darker streak that starts at each eye and goes back."
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