Among my favorites are the butterflies and my childhood friends, the early-evening fireflies. Hovering in the cool shade of one of the small trees that line the walk were bright intermittent flashes of their familiar yellow luminescence. I always wanted to keep them overnight as a nightlight, which is what I imagined a real Pirate on a tropical beach would have done. I remember the thrill of catching them in my cupped hands, gently so they would not be harmed, and then peeking between my fingers to see them light up the tiny space inside my fist. Seeing fireflies makes me think of sticky humid carefree evenings when I was very young.
Females often devour males after mating, too.
BlitzWorld's Butterflies page, with lots of images. University of Florida Entymologist James E. Lloyd's Fireflyer Companion and Letter John Foltz, of The University of Florida's Department of Entomology and Nematology, presents his Firefly Site , source for the James E. Lloyd image to the right above. Attorney at Law Donald Ray Burger's Firefly Site , the motherlode of firefly information on the WWW, including a listing of firefly sightings around the world.