Fairy Lights

It was lovely outside tonight, just before dusk. The clouds were pink cotton candy in the dwindling light before sunset, and the fireflies were blinking all over the lawn. I watched for a few minutes, trying to decode their signals. It seemed that they would all blink at once, then for a few seconds, the blinking stopped. The males flash to attract a female, and if she's interested, the female will blink back to let him know where she's hiding. This little game will go on until they finally meet and have a go at it.

Here's an interesting little tidbit. Some females from different species have evolved the ability to mimic other firefly females, thus luring the horny males for dinner - but unknown to them, they're the main course! Here's the official skinny:

"The male firefly of the species Photinus pyralis, beams a single half-flash during a forward rising flight movement. It looks like the letter "J." The female responds with a single flash. Another species, Photinus consumilis, signals his mate with a rapid succession of flashes. She responds with two beams. In general, males will not fly down to a female that sends the wrong species signal. But, some females of differing species have evolved the ability to mimic the response flashes of species other than their own. As the male flies down to a mimicking female, he is captured and eaten, gulp!"