# Lightning bugs. Doing it. In my yard. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 16, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373 "2010-06-16T00:29:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MercyStreet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@MercyStreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyStreet)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/1 "2010-06-16T00:29:40Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/2 "2010-06-16T01:05:04Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/3 "2010-06-16T02:39:28Z")
Even educated fleas do it. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/4 "2010-06-16T02:42:45Z")
Two turtles were getting it on in my yard last week. I always wondered how they managed to do it. Very cool actually. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/5 "2010-06-16T02:47:00Z")
> [@gravitycrash](#): > > 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? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![raindrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/74df32/32.png) [@raindrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindrop)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/6 "2010-06-16T02:50:13Z")
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) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/7 "2010-06-16T03:04:52Z")
> [@gravitycrash](#): > > Two turtles were getting it on in my yard last week. I always wondered how they managed to do it. Very cool actually. o/`I want a man with a slow hand... o/` ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/8 "2010-06-16T03:05:52Z")
> [@raindrop](#): > > 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) Dragonflies are members of the Yard-High Club… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/9 "2010-06-16T03:12:50Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![RalfCoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@RalfCoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RalfCoder)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/10 "2010-06-16T18:51:21Z")
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… ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/11 "2010-06-16T19:07:00Z")
I haven’t seen any lightning bugs around these parts in a long, long time. I miss them. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/12 "2010-06-18T03:08:38Z")
> [@RalfCoder](#): > > 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 think they’re more likely thinking, “Baby got BACK!”… or “I like BIG BUTTS and I cannot lie…”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/13 "2010-06-18T04:49:00Z")
> [@gravitycrash](#): > > Two turtles were getting it on in my yard last week. I always wondered how they managed to do it. Very cool actually. Didja hear boy turtle’s moaning? 😃 ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vTRRS3IY4Tw/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/vTRRS3IY4Tw?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/14 "2010-06-18T14:54:30Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > I haven’t seen any lightning bugs around these parts in a long, long time. I miss them. 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? ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/15 "2010-06-18T16:10:55Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![raindrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/74df32/32.png) [@raindrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindrop)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/16 "2010-06-18T21:39:37Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > > [@gravitycrash](#): > > > > Two turtles were getting it on in my yard last week. I always wondered how they managed to do it. Very cool actually. > > o/`I want a man with a slow hand... o/` 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. ---
**Author:** ![Lily\_Milliner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8edcca/32.png) [@Lily\_Milliner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lily_Milliner)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/17 "2010-06-18T22:09:05Z")
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! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/18 "2010-06-19T00:14:25Z")
> [@raindrop](#): > > well, it was surprisingly erotic. 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. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/19 "2010-06-19T00:46:08Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > Didja hear boy turtle’s moaning? 😃 > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTRRS3IY4Tw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTRRS3IY4Tw) He wasn’t as vocal as that dude! That is one frustrated turtle. Poor little guy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![raindrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/74df32/32.png) [@raindrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindrop)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373/20 "2010-06-19T18:29:45Z")
> [@Lily\_Milliner](#): > > 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! Yes, I have lots of slugs! Gah, I HATE those things! Go, lightning bugs! 🆒 > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > You need help. 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. > [@](#): > > 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. Geeeez, I wonder if anything else got caught? :eek:… oh, never mind. ::blushes:: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-bugs-doing-it-in-my-yard/543373.md?page=2)