On my way home, I saw fireflies for the first time in my life. In the darkest part of the road, they seemed like an extension of the starry sky. White lights appeared and vanished, some moving from place to place on complex trajectories. A mesmerizing spectacle.
That is, until one of these centimeter-sized beetles lands on your face in the dark.
Two species of fireflies live in Virginia – Photinus pyralis (or the common eastern firefly) and Photuris http://animals.mom.me/fireflies-native-virginia-8288.html
The communication of fireflies through light signals is so filled with deception that one could say deception is “a way of life” for them. The light signals of fireflies serve as a means of intersexual communication. For example, a Photinus pyralis male uses a half-second flash every 6 seconds, zigzagging downward through the bushes or grass where a female might be sitting. In response, the female waits 2 seconds after the male’s flash and then emits her own half-second flash. This sequence can be repeated a dozen or more times before the male finally approaches the female and climbs onto her. However, since the female begins laying eggs immediately after mating, it leads to a surplus of males.
This surplus of males benefits another species of firefly — Photuris. Females of this species mimic the response signals of Photinus pyralis females to attract and eat these males. There is another deceptive trick: Photuris males, if they fly slowly, can mimic the signals of Photinus males to attract females for mating. And sometimes their imitation may mimic an imitation.
One thing remains unclear, do Photuris pyralis females eat their own males or just the competitors? Does anyone know?
There’s a good video about this on TED.com: https://www.ted.com/talks/sara_lewis_the_loves_and_lies_of_fireflies
I tried to take a video, but I’ve just realized it’s no good. You’re better off watching this one https://youtu.be/pR0b2_rg4U8?t=102
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 