06/24/2026
It's now our summer and we have seen the firefly hatching results. It's not as good as this video....but close.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1825504571286784
When we tell our customers and friends not to bushwhack all of their property, this is one of the reasons why. Fireflies need two years to mate, lay eggs, larval stage and hatch.
Life Cycle of Fireflies
Like all beetles (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/group/fireflies/), fireflies undergo complete metamorphosis with four stages in their life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
Egg – In mid-summer, mated females will deposit about 100 spherical eggs, singly or in clusters. Fireflies prefer moist soils, and will lay eggs under mulch or leaf litter, where the soil is likely to stay moist. But it varies by species. These eggs usually hatch in three- to four-weeks.
Larva – Larvae emerge from their eggs in late summer, and live in the soil through the winter before pupating in the spring. This is one of the many reasons to keep leaf litter in our garden beds. At night the larvae hunt and eat slugs, snails, and worms. To consume food, the larvae will capture and inject its victim with digestive enzymes to immobilize it and liquefy its remains.
Pupa – Different species of firefly larva pupate in different ways. When the larva is ready, usually in late spring, some species construct a mud chamber in the soil and settle inside it. In other species, the larva attaches itself to a tree’s bark, hanging upside down by the hind end.
During pupation, a remarkable transformation takes place during the pupal stage. In a process called histolysis, the larva’s body is broken down, and special groups of transformative cells are activated, triggering biochemical processes that transform the insect from a larva into its adult form. When the metamorphosis is complete, the adult firefly is ready to emerge, usually about 10 days to several weeks after pupation.
Adult – When the adult firefly emerges, it has one purpose, to reproduce. To find a mate, fireflies use a species-specific pattern to locate compatible individuals of the opposite s*x.
Typically, the male flies low to the ground, flashing a signal with the light organ on his abdomen, and a female resting on vegetation returns his communiqué. By repeating this exchange, the male hones in on her, and the rest of the story is happily ever after.
Adult fireflies don’t live long, averaging about two months; just long enough to mate and lay eggs.
No matter the life cycle, all stages of fireflies glow. Bioluminescence is present in firefly eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults, and even some larvae living below the ground or underwater glow. Some firefly eggs emit a faint glow if disturbed.
Experts theorize the ability to emit light helps larvae signal to predators that they aren’t appetizing, since part of the firefly defense mechanism is to produce foul-tasting steroids.
The firefly’s glow is the result of the reaction of two chemicals found in their tails, luciferase and luciferin. Luciferin is heat resistant and provides the glow. Luciferase triggers the flash. Firefly light can be yellow, green, or orange
