Both sexes of fireflies do light up but each sex of the firefly has it's own patterns of flashing.
Male fireflies also light up to signal their desire for mates, and willing females attract the males with flashes of their own.
While each firefly species has its own pattern of flashing, some females imitate the patterns of other species.
To be sure about the gender of a lightning bug you'll need to catch it and look at the belly.
Male Photinus firefly light organs are in the last two segments of their abdomens, while females' light organs are only in the second-to-last segment
A lightning bug and a firefly are the same thing and the only difference between a lightning bug and a firefly is the name.
Fireflies cannot hurt you when you touch them or come into contact with them.
Although if you eat fireflies in mass quantities they can be poisonous and deadly.
Whether you know them as Lightning Bugs or Fireflies, these are beneficial insects.
They don't bite, they have no pincers, they don't attack, they don't carry disease and they don't even fly very fast.
Fireflies can be found in most any state although the firefly is more common in some other states.
Fireflies can be found in Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Florida, California and also the following states which they are more easily found.
Tennessee:.
Pennsylvania:
Florida:
South Carolina:
Fireflies are found in temperate and tropical regions on every continent except Antarctica.
They live throughout the United States in parks, meadows, gardens, and woodland edges.
They are most commonly seen on summer evenings.
Fireflies also known as lightning bugs or Lampyridae are a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera with more than 2,000 described species.
They are soft-bodied beetles that are commonly called fireflies, glowworms, or lightning bugs for their conspicuous use of bioluminescence during twilight to attract mates or prey
Fireflies are harmless to humans when touched but if you try to eat the fireflies or lightning bugs they can be poisonous.
When predators attack, the fireflies start “reflex bleeding,” and produce drops of blood filled with nasty chemicals that are poisonous to lizards and birds.
They're not great for humans, either, so don't try eating them!