Fireflies in Nichinan, Tottori Prefecture, Japan
© north-tail/Getty Images Plu
Info. Fireflies in Nichinan, Tottori Prefecture, Japan
Each summer, fireflies turn this Japanese forest in Tottori Prefecture into a light show. After a larval stage spent living in water, the fully formed fireflies light up the night during June and July. There are more than 2,000 species of fireflies, a type of beetle. Males that glow use their flash to attract females while flying in the air. Females usually fly low and rest on the ground or grass. They wait for a male firefly whose flash pattern they find attractive, and then they flash back to signal they're interested in mating. An adult firefly only lives for about two months, but that’s enough time for the bugs to produce plenty of eggs, soon to hatch into larvae who'll emerge from their pupae next summer and start another light show.
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