What Does A Lightning Bug Eat

According to national geographic some species do not seem to eat at all once they reach the adult stage which makes some sense once you learn that their entire life span is about 2 months.

What does a lightning bug eat. Some species are arboreal and their larvae hunt tree snails. Even better most species are predatory feeding on the larvae of insect pests as well as on slugs and snails. Other adult species sustain themselves with plant nectar. The second stage of the life cycle of a firefly is the larval stage to develop into a pupa the larvae generally eat small insects snails slugs earthworms dead animals and organic material that is available in their habitat.

Once predators get a bite they associate the unpleasant taste with firefly light and avoid attacking the lightning bugs in the future. Several species of adult lightning bugs attempt to lure other species of lightning bugs so they can eat them. Placing copper strips or pennies in your hosta a favorite target of iowa s gray garden slugs hasn t been proven to prevent the slugs damage. They inject a digestive fluid onto their prey which immobilizes their prey.

But lightning bugs in their larval stage prey on slugs. They eat soft bodied insects that live on or in the ground like snails slugs worms or other larvae. Lightning bugs also eat other insect larvae and snails. Lightning bug larvae eat snails slugs and worms.

Lightning bug larvae live on the ground under bark and in moist swampy places. What a beneficial beetle. A few asian species use gills to breathe underwater where they eat aquatic snails and other mollusks. This is where the lightning bugs come in.

They eat earthworms snails and slugs plus they may scavenge certain small dead animals and other organic material. Some fireflies eat the nectar or pollen of flowers others eat smaller fireflies and some don t eat anything at all. Most firefly species inhabit moist terrestrial environments where they feed on snails or worms in the soil. Fireflies produce a cold light with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies.

This chemically produced light from the lower abdomen may be yellow green or pale red with wavelengths from 510 to 670 nanomete. They eat earthworms snails and slugs plus they may scavenge certain small dead animals and other organic material. Attracting lightning bugs to your garden is definitely a good thing to do as unlike many other less desirable bugs these beneficial insects don t bite they aren t poisonous and they carry no diseases. The larvae of most fireflies are predaceous beneficial insects that feed on snails slugs and worms.

Although some adults of certain firefly species might still catch other bugs for dinner most adults actually feed on nectar and pollen. Some fireflies eat other types of fireflies. They are soft bodied beetles that are commonly called fireflies glowworms or lightning bugs for their conspicuous use of bioluminescence during twilight to attract mates or prey.