Thursday 5 April 2012

F for Fireflies


Fun Facts: This was so hard to condense. I wanted to write so much on the subject but I’m using my superpowers to restrain myself. It's not easy.





1) Fireflies, sometimes called lightning bugs, are neither flies nor bugs. They are in fact, beetles belonging to the order Coleoptera. But of course you already knew that since you’ve been following dutifully and clearly recall my C post. Right. 


2) Fireflies use a chemical reaction called bioluminescence to produce a "cold light" (a light that produces no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies). The light is emitted from the tip of the abdomen and is used to attract mates or prey.

3) Each species has a different flash code to attract the right mate. The males flies around flashing their butts off and the females watch from the ground. If she likes what she sees, she'll flash back and the male will fly down for some sweet, light-up-my-life beetle love. However, there is a species of firefly where the females mimic the flash codes of another male species to lure them from the skies.  When the duped male comes within range, she jumps on him and he becomes dinner! Flash burger with lightning ale and chips on the side. (You can tell it's late because I'm getting a little goofy).


No flash fiction for today. Instead, you get awful rhyming words ridiculously put together in terrible form. Enjoy, but you probably won't.
---

Poetry.

I really enjoy poetry, especially rhyming verse.
I'm terrible at poetry, it's an anti-poetry curse.

I try real hard to break the spell,
So here goes nothing,
my firefly poem called What The Hell?


What The Hell?

You flashed me once,
shame on you.

You flashed me twice,
Shame on me.

You flashed me thrice,
And my head was served on a bed of rice!
What the Hell?
----

Okay I'm not that mean and have something to get the bad taste out of your mouth after subjecting you to above dribble: Fireflies from Owl City's debut single. Enjoy  :)








You may also like:
Buy the book that critics say
is “a mind-blowing sci-fi read from
start to end.” $4.99 from Amazon
now. Begin your journey today.

17 comments:

  1. That Mayan quote, "...lights from the stars", is fantastic! I can imagine difficulty of keeping this topic short. Thanks for the awesome food for thought. Good luck with the challenge. Cheers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love that discription too, "...lights from the stars." It's simple but the imagery is beautiful. Cheers!

      Delete
  2. Fantastic Elise, brightening up my day again.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I did not know that about fireflies! Your poem made me chuckle:)
    We don't have any fireflies where I live now either, but when we lived in Wisconsin they'd be out every evening in the summer. We would take our oldest daughter, who was four, to the park to chase them:) Sweet memories!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Whoa! I am now in awe of fireflies! I didn't know all that stuff, especially about bioluminescence! I laughed about "she jumps on him and he becomes dinner"...huh, I always thought that was normal in our home! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sally: I'm tickled that you enjoy these bug posts! (:

    Honey: Fireflies do bring back wonderful memories. I remember summer nights watching fireflies congregate in trees and lighting them up as if it where Christmas Eve...

    Jack: The insect world is truly amazing. There is still so much to uncover. And dinners at your house sound dangerous! :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ouch, I didn't know that fireflies eat each other! In summer I have them sometimes on my terrace. They seem to like Bollywood-movies, because I usually only saw them there when I was watching one :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are so lucky to have firefiles where you live but rest assured not all of them are the cannibalistic types. And it looks like I'm going to have to watch Bollywood this summer in hopes to attract some down here. (;

      Delete
  7. Love the fireflies trivia... especially the bit about the flash codes... they're certainly not lacking in style!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great post, and I enjoyed the poem (I too have an anti-poetry curse!). I've always called them lightning bugs. There weren't any in CO, so my kids are loving them now that we are back on the east coast.

    What a fun A to Z theme!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I call them lightning bugs too, but I needed to fit it in the F post. (: Have fun this summer watching them light up the summer evening sky, wish I could be there!

      Delete
  9. I thought your poem was cute and funny. Okay so I take my earlier comment back, the only beetles I like are fireflies. My kids love to chase after them in the yard in summer. They are really pretty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I loved chasing fireflies as a kid too. Wish my kids could experience fireflies as well, but they will have to wait until we go back to visit the States again.

      Delete
    2. You don't have them in France?

      Delete
    3. I've never seen any here and I've lived in France for almost 10 years. Apparently there are some, but spotting them is rare. The closest I've gotten was finding a glowworm nestled at the base of my mailbox. Still neat, but not as exciting as chasing fireflies.

      Delete
    4. I'll catch some this summer and mail them to you. ;)

      Delete

Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment!
Comments are the best. Well, the nice ones are. (:
I do my best to reply to everyone either via e-mail,
directly in the comment box or by leaving a comment
on your site. Chat with you soon!

Also, not interested in your spam. Really, I'm not interested.

J'écris, donc je suis (:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...