I found a pair of lightning bugs mating on the rear steps a few moments ago.
Yesterday, it was libidinous squirrels. On the TRUNK of the ash tree. Two weeks ago, it was ladybugs which apparently paused during an aphids buffet amid the astilbe.
Apparently my property is a great place to get it on.
Lighting bug ladies of species “A” make flashes like species “B” to attract species “B” males.
When species “B” males try to mate with them, female species “A” eat them.
Even educated fleas do it.
Two turtles were getting it on in my yard last week. I always wondered how they managed to do it. Very cool actually.
Are they finished yet? 
Hmm, I always wondered about the lightning bug diet, like what they normally eat. But when they aren’t eating each other, what else do they eat? (And despite the OP I did not mean that the way it came out!:eek:) I meant, when they’re not being all cutesy and lighting up the night, are they chomping on anything precious in my vegetable garden? Or do they eat other bugs that are chomping something precious in my vegetable garden? I.e. are they friend or foe?
okay, maybe I should also find a way to stay on topic…
BTW, all the bugs are always doing it, even when you don’t see them doing it, otherwise there’d be no bugs at all… (yeah, the sneaky little buggers. :p)
o/I want a man with a slow hand... o/
Dragonflies are members of the Yard-High Club…
Lightning bugs are the only bugs that I will, as a matter of principle, never ever harm if I can avoid it. In most species, it’s only the male that flies - which means that, when I see a lightning bug (or firefly, as I’ve always called them) flying around and flashing, I’m watching a fellow dude trying his darnedest to get laid. And he really is working at it - flight has a steep metabolic cost, and the flashing can’t be cheap either.
I won’t foul a fellow dude’s game. It just isn’t done. Hell, there was a firefly batting itself against the door to my apartment once - attracted by the light. If he hadn’t figured out he was doing it wrong and gone away, my plan was to get a bit of paper and very, very gently guide him away to someplace where he might actually score.
Fireflies often flash in response to the flash from other fireflies. It’s sort of a “ME TOO!” reaction. If you go out at dusk when you see them, and flick a flashlight on and off, you can sometimes trigger a whole buncha flashes in response, all at the same time.
I don’t know if they’ll think your bright flashlight makes you the Big Bubba Bruiser of the bug world, but sometimes it’s good to know you can impress at least someone…
I haven’t seen any lightning bugs around these parts in a long, long time. I miss them.
I think they’re more likely thinking, “Baby got BACK!”… or “I like BIG BUTTS and I cannot lie…”.
Didja hear boy turtle’s moaning? 
Strange, for the past three years my backyard has been full of them after a 30 year absence. I remember them when I was a kid then nothing until a few years ago. I wonder what changed in my location for them to return?
The firefly population in my area (near Philadelphia) varies from year to year. This year is a spectacular one – my back yard looks like that scene in Cinderella when the fairy godmother shows up.
I find it odd how much earlier fireflies and crickets start here than in Rhode Island, where I grew up. When I was a kid, hearing crickets meant that summer was half over… around here they seem to start in late May.
I watched a nature documentary that included a segment of mating sea turtles. They’re clumsy on land, but strangely elegant in the ocean. After watching those huge clumsy animals, affectionately locked together while rocking and rolling gently around in the ocean waves, in seemingly slow-motion, just taking their sweet time… well, it was surprisingly erotic.
Wow, I can’t believe I’m the first one in with a scientific response to the “what do lightning bugs eat” question! I am no entomologist, but I have frequented some buggy events at our local nature center, where we were told that lightning bugs dine on slugs and snails. If you have a wet spring and lots of slimies around, you will have lots of lightning bugs. Dry spring, fewer flashes. Hope this is accurate info; if not, I’m sure someone will be along to correct me!
You need help.
I saw a lady tortise at the zoo dragging her lover on his back behind her. He got part of his leg caught when she pulled into her shell. I hope it was worth the ride for him.
He wasn’t as vocal as that dude! That is one frustrated turtle. Poor little guy.
Yes, I have lots of slugs! Gah, I HATE those things! Go, lightning bugs! 
Eh, you just might be right.
And it’s probably a good thing that I’m already in therapy?
During the documentary I was just sitting on the couch, thinking, “damn, why the heck am I getting turned on by this?” I mean, the turtles were rocking and rolling around and around; the camera lingered on them an exceptionally long time; the soft atmospheric music was playing; ahh, romance.
But honestly I think the people who created the film knew exactly what they were doing, a romantic turtle porn show.
Geeeez, I wonder if anything else got caught? :eek:… oh, never mind. ::blushes::