Lightning bugs, also called fireflies, are not simply bugs and are not flies. In fact, there are about 136 different species of fireflies illuminating earth s summer nights. Fireflies are easy to locate. Go outside at different times during the evening and watch for small twinkling lights in the air. Good places to find fireflies are over meadows or lawns and at the edge of woods or streams.
Fireflies are carnivorous.
They eat other insects, small animals in the soil, and snails. Fireflies overwinter as larvae buried in the soil and emerge in the spring to feed. In summer, they pupate for about 2 weeks within a small earthen cell before emerging as adults. The adult fireflies signal each other with their lights and mate. The female s eggs are laid a few days after mating, on or slightly under soil.