Firefly

A firefly’s light comes from a special organ on its body.  Luminescent cells within the organ produce chemicals which join with oxygen to make the light.

On a summer evening, you may see the bright, little flashes of a firefly’s light.

The firefly is not really a fly:  it is a beetle.  Its blinking yellow light comes from a special luminescent organ which is usually located at the end of its body.

To flash its light, the firefly admits air into its luminescent organ through tiny openings.  Inside the organ are light-making chemicals.  When oxygen in the air joins with the chemicals, energy is released in the form of light.

A firefly doesn’t burn in your hand if you catch it.

Fireflies find their mates by flashing their lights.  As he flies about at night, the male flashes his light.  The female seldom files, but parches on a blade of grass near the ground.  When she sees the male’s blinking signal she flashes her own light.

The fireflies flash their lights until they finally meet. – Dick Rogers