At the Firefly Files we learned that there are over 2,000 species of these bioluminescent, nocturnal beetles. There, a substance called luciferin reacts with oxygen, which is breathed in through the abdominal trachea. Some scientists also believe that the flashing warns off potential predators. Nevertheless, frogs have been known to gorge on a summer feast of fireflies until they themselves begin to glow. Some report that adults don't eat at all, others believe that they feed on nectar and pollen.
Female fireflies lay eggs in the soil.
Four weeks later larvae are born. These larvae feed on slugs and snails over the summer, spend the winter in underground tunnels and emerge in the spring to eat again and transform into glowing bugs. Fireflies are found throughout tropical and temperate regions of the world. In the United States they live mostly east of the Mississippi. To attract fireflies to your backyard, try cutting down on lawn chemicals, reduce extra lighting which may interfere with their signaling and plant tall grass or overhanging trees and shrubs to provide cool, moist, daytime shelter.