Then They Were Lightning Bugs

We called them lightning bugs. Not fireflies. 


Back in the day. My childhood days, that is. 

I couldn't wait for dark because then they'd glow and I could chase them. Who knows why children are so fond of chasing things? 

I watch Andrew and his little legs run and run and run. Rarely does he walk. 

He seems in such a hurry, his chubby legs getting longer and longer as he grows out of toddler-hood. Like he's in such a hurry to grow up and out of my lap.

It just all goes by so fast, doesn't it?

Want to know some interesting lightning bug/firefly facts?

1. Fireflies talk to each other with light.

2. Fireflies produce "cold light." The most efficient lights in the world.

3. Firefly eggs glow. 

4. Fireflies eat other fireflies.

5. Fireflies have short lifespans.

6. Fireflies imitate each other.

7. Fireflies are found on almost every continent.

8. Fireflies are medically and scientifically useful.

9. Fireflies don't make tasty prey.

If you want to read more in-depth info about them, click here.

Oddly enough, I went many years without seeing fireflies. 

Then just a week or so ago, I was standing at the patio door and there one was, blinking at me in the darkness. 

It was at that moment that the words "lightning bugs" popped into my mind. 

Not fireflies, as I've called them my whole adult life.

Isn't it funny how seeing or smelling or hearing something reaches down into our deep well of memories and summons up a fact clear as day? Like magic.

Sixty years old and that memory was filed away all this time, just waiting for the right moment to remind me.

ome species of firefly larvae are generally aquatic—they even have gills—while others live almost entirely in trees.

Fireflies are medically and scientifically useful.

The two chemicals found in a firefly's tail, luciferase and luciferin, light up in the presence of ATP. Every animal has ATP in its cells in amounts that are more or less constant—or should be. In diseased cells, the amount of ATP may be abnormal. If the chemicals from fireflies are injected into diseased cells, they can detect changes in cells that can be used to study many diseases, from cancer to muscular dystrophy.
But that's not all they're used for. Electronic detectors built with these chemicals have been fitted into spacecraft to detect life in outer space, as well as food spoilage and bacterial contamination on earth.

Fireflies don't make tasty prey.

When attacked, fireflies shed drops of blood in a process known as “reflex bleeding.” The blood contains chemicals that taste bitter and can be poisonous to some animals. Because of this, many animals learn to avoid eating fireflies. Pet owners should never feed fireflies to lizards, snakes and other reptilian pets.

ome species of firefly larvae are generally aquatic—they even have gills—while others live almost entirely in trees.

Fireflies are medically and scientifically useful.

The two chemicals found in a firefly's tail, luciferase and luciferin, light up in the presence of ATP. Every animal has ATP in its cells in amounts that are more or less constant—or should be. In diseased cells, the amount of ATP may be abnormal. If the chemicals from fireflies are injected into diseased cells, they can detect changes in cells that can be used to study many diseases, from cancer to muscular dystrophy.
But that's not all they're used for. Electronic detectors built with these chemicals have been fitted into spacecraft to detect life in outer space, as well as food spoilage and bacterial contamination on earth.

Fireflies don't make tasty prey.

When attacked, fireflies shed drops of blood in a process known as “reflex bleeding.” The blood contains chemicals that taste bitter and can be poisonous to some animals. Because of this, many animals learn to avoid eating fireflies. Pet owners should never feed fireflies to lizards, snakes and other reptilian pets.

I suppose chasing lightning bugs was so amusing because just as I'd reach out my hand to grab onto one, the light would blink off and it was invisible again. 

Like chasing a ghost. Or grabbing at air. 

Like the memories that rise to the surface when we least expect them to.
 
Now every night I go back to the patio door to watch for them again. I stand there and remember those days of being a little girl. 

Running round and round the house chasing lightning bugs till I wore myself out. 

Back when we called them lightning bugs instead of fireflies.

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