# Lightning Bugs



## riegs22 (Mar 24, 2009)

Hey summer is coming up and I was wondering if anyone has tried keeping lighting bugs as pets?

I just think it would be cool to have some breeding throughout the year. cool lightshows at night!


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## Kaddock (Mar 25, 2009)

riegs22,

Fireflies or Lightning Bugs (Family Lampyridae) are beetles that have a luminous organ in their abdomen for attracting a mate.

The adults, which the majority of people are interested in, *do not feed* and are relatively short-lived. All of the feeding is done as a larvae. The larvae eat slugs, snails, insect larvae etc. You may be able to rear larvae if you find them but it is unlikely that you will be able to get the adults to breed in captivity.

For Fun If You Want to Keep Them As A Nightlight:

To keep the firefly happy, put a moist paper towel in the bottom of the container you are keeping them in. Also a few grass stems or other vegetation in to give them something to crawl on is much appreciated. At night they will give off a soft glow in your bedroom.

Hope that helps!!!  

( from http://www.amentsoc.org/insects/caresheets/ )


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## hibiscusmile (Mar 25, 2009)

:lol: I might try that after hubby goes to sleep one night so I's can blow his mind!


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## Katnapper (Mar 25, 2009)

Kaddock said:


> riegs22,Fireflies or Lightning Bugs (Family Lampyridae) are beetles that have a luminous organ in their abdomen for attracting a mate.
> 
> The adults, which the majority of people are interested in, *do not feed* and are relatively short-lived. All of the feeding is done as a larvae. The larvae eat slugs, snails, insect larvae etc. You may be able to rear larvae if you find them but it is unlikely that you will be able to get the adults to breed in captivity.
> 
> ...


Very interesting, Kaddock! Thanks for the info and link!  

Rebecca, did you use invisible ink on your first reply? :lol:


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## riegs22 (Mar 25, 2009)

I had no idea they didnt eat as adults. Guess there goes that idea. Probably would be ok if you had a large like a tall 55 gallon tank though. Give the guys plenty of room to fly for mating displays.


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## PhilinYuma (Mar 25, 2009)

riegs22 said:


> I had no idea they didnt eat as adults. Guess there goes that idea. Probably would be ok if you had a large like a tall 55 gallon tank though. Give the guys plenty of room to fly for mating displays.


Don't give up yet!

Try this: http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:E42dU...=clnk&amp;gl=us

I have a site with his original pix and handwritten entries on Firefox, but I'm using IE at the moment &lt;_&lt; 

Insects that spend long periods as larvae underground or in fresh water, frequently have imagos that are just "reproductive machines" that either don't eat, like fireflies, cadis flies and cicadas or neither eat nor drink, like mayflies.

If you have a 55 gal tank or can get one, you might find that aquatic larvae are easier to raise than terrestrial ones, you can feed some spp. on pond snails.

Like so many critters, the population of fireflies, world wide, is in steep decline, so maybe you can find a way of building their numbers up again!


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## Rick (Mar 25, 2009)

Used to catch them by the hundreds as kids and release them in our rooms at night. They were very plentiful back home in the midwest but I don't see too many around here.


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## riegs22 (Mar 25, 2009)

thanks PhilinYuma Awsome site, I might actually try this in the upcoming summer!

I figured Id sum it up for anyone else interested.

Hatchlings:

Females will lay eggs in soil (might be good to use a seperate container like raisning crickets with soil)

I recommend providing young P. pyralis hatched in soil with a diet of freshly killed adult fruit flies or fruit fly larvae. (now I can even use up dead flies no prob there)

Adults:

Seems maybe they have mouth parts I guess they can somehow eat/drink a little possibly.

. Adult P. pyralis may have their life span increased by feeding them honey water in captivity. This is useful when attempting to rear fireflies as it may be helpful to extend the life span of adults while endeavoring to collect eggs.

Well dosent seem to overly complicated. He seemed to use small 2 gallon tanks for mating so looks like big tank wont be neccesary.


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## Griever (Mar 25, 2009)

I here that the larva emit a light as well, so there would be plenty of lightshows all through its life stages  

Its too bad that hardly anyone has tried to really breed these guys or have some sort of real conservation program, you don't see these guys often anymore


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## Katnapper (Mar 25, 2009)

Griever said:


> I here that the larva emit a light as well, so there would be plenty of lightshows all through its life stages  Its too bad that hardly anyone has tried to really breed these guys or have some sort of real conservation program, you don't see these guys often anymore


I see them literally by the millions over and in the bean fields in the country at the appropriate time in the summer. But I have noticed a decline in their overall appearance in town... they seem much more scarce in populated urban areas than in years before. It is too bad. But you should see the show at dusk over an Illinois beanfield, alongside the road in the ditches, and in open spaces of the fields and the countryside in general... magnificent!!!!


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## revmdn (Mar 26, 2009)

I still get a ton of them out this way also.


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## riegs22 (Mar 26, 2009)

"I here that the larva emit a light as well, so there would be plenty of lightshows all through its life stages"

Yeah that site mentioned the larva have holes on the abdoen and it looks like they burn like little furnaces. That sounds cool to see.


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## animalexplorer (Mar 2, 2011)

Back in Nebraska I would see plenty, not millions. I couldn't count that fast or high anyway.


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## Mr.Mantid (Mar 2, 2011)

We have 'em all over the place in Wisconsin during the summer.


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## Peter Clausen (Mar 2, 2011)

My wife is from Nebraska. As kids they would rip the butts (abdomen) off the fireflies and paint their faces in glowing liquids. What a lady!


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## geckoboy3 (Mar 2, 2011)

None here. They would be cool to raise though...


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