Basic information
Chinese name: firefly
Field: animal kingdom
Class: Insecta
Subclass: winged subclass
Objective: COLEOPTERA
Family: fireflies.
Distribution: tropical, subtropical and temperate regions
Species: black firefly, red firefly, window-breasted firefly.
Lamian Noodles: Lamian Noodles with a chin.
morphological character
Fireflies, also known as luminous, Sedum, etc., such as luminous, luminous, fireflies, night candles, luminous, etc. , belonging to COLEOPTERA, is a small beetle.
Because its tail can emit fluorescence, it is named firefly. There are about 2000 species of this kind of insect with luminous tail, among which black firefly, red firefly and window-breasted firefly are common in China.
Fireflies are about 0.8 cm long, flat and slender, with a small head, soft body walls and coleopters, and a large bra covering the head. The antenna of male worm is long, 1 1 node, flat or serrated; There are 6~7 webbed abdomen, with luminous body at the end, which can emit fluorescence; Most males have wings. Female insects have no wings, their bodies are bigger than those of male insects, and they can't fly, but their fluorescence is brighter than that of male insects.
Poems about fireflies
Silver candle cold painting screen, light Luo small fan flapping fireflies
Population classification
Aquatic firefly
Terrestrial firefly
Semiaquatic firefly
Living habits
Firefly larvae can be divided into aquatic and terrestrial species. Generally, it takes six amoebas to enter the pupa stage. Larvae like to eat snails and crustaceans. After catching the prey, they will be anesthetized and then inject digestive juice into their bodies to decompose the meat.
In the grass, it is often found that the terrestrial firefly larvae glow at two points in the tail, and the two-color drooping firefly larvae glow in black and white. The wings of these two growing females have degenerated, which is not much different from the shape of larvae, so that males can fly.
In early spring, firefly larvae living in water will climb ashore and drill into the soil. At this time, gill breathing is changed to stomatal breathing, and both sides of the abdomen will glow, and it will become a pupa adult in about 50 days, with an average life span of only 5 days, and eating and growth will become secondary. After sunset 1 hour, fireflies are very active, fighting for time to chase each other. The males will flash once in 20 seconds, and then signal again after 20 seconds, waiting patiently for the females to give a strong light response. When there is no response, the male will fly to other places.
distribution range
There are about 2000 species in the world, distributed in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions.
There are more than 2000 species of fireflies known in the world, belonging to 8 subfamilies, 92 genera and subgenus, which are distributed in temperate, subtropical and tropical regions. There are about 54 species in China, which are distributed all over the country, especially in southern and southeast coastal provinces.
Luminous principle
The glow of fireflies is a bioluminescence. The luminous principle of fireflies is that fireflies have special luminous cells, and there are two chemicals in the luminous cells.
Quality, one is called fluorescein (in fireflies, called firefly fluorescein), and the other is called luciferase. Fluorescein can consume ATP under the catalysis of luciferase and react with oxygen to produce stimulated oxidized fluorescein, which releases photons when it returns to the ground state. Almost all the energy released in the reaction is released in the form of light, only a small part is released in the form of heat, and the reaction efficiency is 95%, so the beetle will not be overheated and burned. Humans have so far been unable to make such an efficient light source.
There are many white patches on the lower abdomen of worms. In fact, it is the transparent part of the shell. There is a white film inside, which can reflect light. So this part looks white during the day.
living environment
Urbanization and land development have greatly affected the habitat and ecology of fireflies; With the passage of time, the number of fireflies has gradually decreased, and the reasons why fireflies have gradually disappeared are nothing more than the following factors:
1. Habitat destroyed
The stability of habitat environment is the basis of fireflies' survival. Humans have developed a large amount of land, which has changed or destroyed the original living environment of fireflies, greatly reducing the number of fireflies.
2. The influence of artificial light source
3. Pesticides and chemical pollution
4. Water pollution
5. Domestic garbage pollution
Capture method
Catching fireflies generally adopts net bag method or bottle catching method.
The net bag method is to catch fireflies flying at low altitude at night with gauze net bags. Because this insect flies slowly, it always glows, which obviously exposes its flight path and flies at a very low altitude. As long as it is found, it will be caught with a net sweep. Sometimes it is not caught, but the firefly suddenly falls to the ground and is caught when it is hit by a net. For fireflies resting on grass or branches, you can take a glass bottle with a large bottle mouth, aim the bottle mouth at it when you get close, and gently rub it into the bottle. If the parking is not high, you can also grab it directly with your hands. However, it should be noted that this kind of insect is delicate, so it should be handled with care, otherwise it will be caught.
Related allusions
Che Yin, a poor student in Jin Dynasty, loved studying. Every summer, in order to save lighting costs, many fireflies are caught and put in porous bags, and the light emitted by forty or fifty fireflies can really be worth a candle. He studied hard with the light of fireflies. Finally, the official became an official and became a man with a college degree. From the present point of view, Che Yin must be a nearsighted teenager.
1. Fireflies with green lanterns can fully satisfy children's curiosity and feel the charm of nature elves.
2. Fireflies are important biological indicators reflecting the ecological environment. Through guidance, children can know the reasons why fireflies gradually disappear, realize the importance of environmental protection, and actively participate in the ranks of fireflies and ecological environmental protection.
News report
On July 201April 14, the annual firefly breeding and mating season was ushered in the Elkmont campsite in Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee, USA. Numerous fireflies danced in the air, lighting up the whole night sky and attracting thousands of tourists to watch.
Tourists with red flashlights walk along the river and observe the "courtship ceremony" of glowing fireflies. Glowing fireflies only exist in parts of Southeast Asia and the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. They can only live for 265,438+0 days in adulthood, trapping prey and attracting mates by emitting light. The park provides buses for tourists to enjoy the glowing fireflies at close range.
Every year, the Great Smoky Mountain National Park welcomes thousands of tourists to watch the glowing fireflies light up the night sky.