Tipulidae is the largest family of Diptera with about 1,500 species in North America and 12,000 species worldwide. Larvae are found in fresh water and moist soil, most feeding on decaying vegetation. A few species are pests of cultivated plants. These beetles, both larvae and adults, are predaceous. Larvae feed on other insects, snails, slugs and earthworms.
Adults are well known for their flashing, an important part of their courtship and mating.
There are 23 genera and about 200 species of Lampyridae in North America. During summer months fireflies rest on plants or in trees during the day and are most active between dusk and midnight. It is produced when oxygen, breathed in combines with a substance called luciferin in the presence of the enzyme luciferase, in special cells called photocytes. Female fireflies lay their eggs in the soil which hatch in about four weeks. Some firefly eggs also glow.