What Is A Lightning Bug Look Like

Lightning bug larvae one of which is shown at the right have sickle shaped mandibles with which they can inject a kind of chemical that paralyzes their prey and helps digest it.

What is a lightning bug look like.

Description of a lightning bug an adult lightning bug photinus spp is a winged beetle that measures 7 16 to 9 16 inch long. You might be thinking that lightning bugs don t look like the types of beetles you ve seen before. Adult lightning bugs who can live for several months probably feed on plant nectar. The lampyridae are a family of insects in the beetle order coleoptera with more than 2 000 described species.

What you re calling lightning bugs i m assuming are any of a bunch of species of fireflies right. 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. First let s make sure we re on the same page. A sowbug is actually a land dwelling crustacean with a multiple segmented body about to inch long.

They re actually the largest group of animals on earth. These are beetles in the family lampyridae which use a chemical reac. That means that lightning bugs are actually a type of beetle. That s not surprising since there are more than 350 000 known species of beetles.

Some adult soldier beetles resemble adult lightning bugs while sowbugs or pillbugs look like lightning bug larvae. Several larvae have been seen attacking large prey together. Ah this is a good question. Both fireflies and sowbugs have oval segmented bodies.

Fireflies produce a cold light with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies.