Perhaps the first insect to excite one's child- 

 hood fancy is the firefly. Almost every youngster 

 has caught a "lightning bug" and held it in 

 cupped hands to see its lantern glow. And no 

 child has ever been disappointed by the outcome 

 of this experiment, for the little insect magician 

 is always ready to flash his evening light. 



Our common firefly, about half an inch long, 

 is not a fly at all, but a beetle an interesting one 

 who holds the original patent on the world's 

 most efficient light. A man would be fortunate 

 indeed if he knew how to produce the "cold" 

 light of the firefly. But we know only the ingredi- 

 ents, not the secret combination. 



The fuel in a firefly's flashlight is a substance 

 named luciferin, which unites with oxygen and 

 thus produces light. Instead of burning out in 

 time, as a flashlight battery does, the substance 

 continuously recharges itself and is always ready 

 to produce a flash of light. 



The male firefly dashes about a few feet above 

 the ground, winking his yellow light to attract 

 any females that might be hiding in the grass 

 below. On a dark night in my apple tree com- 

 munity, the fireflies are flickering stars that 

 gently touch the surface of the earth. 



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