What Does A Lightning Bug Eat

Once predators get a bite they associate the unpleasant taste with firefly light and avoid attacking the lightning bugs in the future.

What does a lightning bug eat.

Placing copper strips or pennies in your hosta a favorite target of iowa s gray garden slugs hasn t been proven to prevent the slugs damage. According to national geographic some species do not seem to eat at all once they reach the adult stage which makes some sense once you learn that their entire life span is about 2 months. Lightning bug larvae eat snails slugs and worms. Several species of adult lightning bugs attempt to lure other species of lightning bugs so they can eat them.

Most firefly species inhabit moist terrestrial environments where they feed on snails or worms in the soil. But lightning bugs in their larval stage prey on slugs. They eat earthworms snails and slugs plus they may scavenge certain small dead animals and other organic material. Lightning bugs also eat other insect larvae and snails.

This is where the lightning bugs come in. They eat soft bodied insects that live on or in the ground like snails slugs worms or other larvae. The lampyridae are a family of insects in the beetle order coleoptera with more than 2 000 described species. Although some adults of certain firefly species might still catch other bugs for dinner most adults actually feed on nectar and pollen.

Some fireflies eat other types of fireflies. Attracting lightning bugs to your garden is definitely a good thing to do as unlike many other less desirable bugs these beneficial insects don t bite they aren t poisonous and they carry no diseases. What a beneficial beetle. 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.

Other adult species sustain themselves with plant nectar. They inject a digestive fluid onto their prey which immobilizes their prey. The larvae of most fireflies are predaceous beneficial insects that feed on snails slugs and worms. Fireflies produce a cold light with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies.

They eat earthworms snails and slugs plus they may scavenge certain small dead animals and other organic material. As they mature and turn into beetles they do one of several things depending on which species of firefly they are. This chemically produced light from the lower abdomen may be yellow green or pale red with wavelengths from 510 to 670 nanomete. Lightning bug larvae live on the ground under bark and in moist swampy places.

Some species are arboreal and their larvae hunt tree snails. Some fireflies eat the nectar or pollen of flowers others eat smaller fireflies and some don t eat anything at all. Even better most species are predatory feeding on the larvae of insect pests as well as on slugs and snails.