Discover the luminous Firefly here at Animals N More. These plush toy fireflies include Glow a Beanie Baby made by Ty Inc. Glow was introduced in the year 2000. There is also a firefly named Edison who is a Puffkin made by Swibco. Edison was introduced in 2001. There is also a Folkmanis Firefly Finger Puppet. Find these plush toy fireflies at our sponsor's online gift shop.
Everyone, even city dwellers, are familiar with those small, flat, soft-bodied sparklers of our early summer evenings, the fireflies. They are small insects, about one quarter to 1/2 inch long. In the largest cities, you have only to go on a muggy July evening to the nearest park, or any place where vegetationis at all plentiful, to see at least one lightning bug, as they are often called.
Wet meadows or swampy woods will sometimes fairly teem with them. Although the light is not as long lasting or as brilliant as that of the luminous elaters of the tropics, it is very pleasing to see and excites much interest. One of the most remarkable facts about the fireflies (Lampyridae) is that the light they produce is without any heat or loss of energy.
The luminous organs are located on the sixth and seventh abdominal segments, also sometimes to a lesser extent on others. They are distinguished by the lighter-yellow color of this area. It is in these segments that a special fatty tissue permeated with numerous tracheae (little tubes through which air is conveyed) lies. This fatty tissue contains a substance called luciferin, which is acted upon by the enzyme luciferase, producing this nearly cold light. The light is controlled at the will of the insect and is believed to be a signal between the sexes.
Each species is thought to have its own code of signals. Recent investigation seems to indicate that it is not so much the light -- either color, brilliancy, or length -- but rather the length of the interval that makes the code. Experimenters have tried flashlights, cigarette lighters, and even matches. As long as they kept the interval between flashed the same as that used by the surrounding fireflies, they could get a response from them. Fireflies are a classic example of an organism that uses bioluminescence for sexual selection.
