Insects 4th grade

 

 

Firefly

 

 

           What has six legs, wings, and a bright light you can see in the dark? If you guessed a firefly your right! Fireflies are truly amazing insects. You can learn so much from such a small creature.

            Fireflies have red necks, an orange and black head, very large eyes and all the body parts insects always have. Their body parts are the head, thorax and the abdomen which glows. The firefly has 2 sets of wings and 6 jointed legs. The female firefly is bigger than the male. The firefly is not very hard to miss because of their bright light.

           Fireflies live in very strange places. Fireflies live in rotting wood, dry humid areas, and very dry regions. Fireflies also live by water. Such as ditches, streams, ponds, and the western U.S. fireflies also live in open areas such as woods. Don’t fireflies live in odd places?

            Fireflies eat their prey and hide from predators. Fireflies eat pretty gross things. They eat all slimy things, they eat earthworms, slugs, snails, and insect larvae sometimes they eat other fireflies. The predators to a firefly are feathery and hairy One is a spider and the other a bird. A firefly is also prey.

            Fireflies don’t live for very long. A firefly’s life span is up to3 to4 months. A firefly goes through a complete metamorphosis of egg, larvae, pupa, and adult. That is why a firefly’s life span is not very long.

            Fireflies are amazing insects! Learning more about fireflies is very exiting! They are fabulous creatures. Fireflies make the world of bugs very interesting. Next time you see a firefly observe its bright light.

 

 

 

 

 

Firefly

Erica

Look!  What are those sparkling lights in the grass?  Hmmm are they fallen stars?  No they’re fireflies.  Fireflies are amazing creatures.  Did you know that every stage of their life cycle glow’s.

          The first things you have to know about a firefly is their physical features.  Did you know there are more than 2,000 kinds of fireflies?  Fireflies flash their lights to send measages.  There eyes are very big.  They can see in many different directions.  They have two feelers.  There feelers help them smell, fell, and hear.  Now that you know about their physical features, you should have to trouble spotting one near you!

Do you know where a firefly lives?  Well you are about to find out!  They live in

grassy areas. They also like jungles and tropical areas where there light is brighter.  They will also live by water or in rotting wood.  Fireflies like hot, damp, dry or humid climates. It must be nice to always have warm weather to enjoy!

            Survival for a firefly isn’t always easy.  They have many hungry predators.  

  What is that glowing thing on the web?  It is a spider.  Did you know that spiders or   

frogs that eat too many fireflies, glow.  Fireflies eat earth worms, slugs, snails, and larva.  Some times even fireflies eat fireflies.YUCK!  Survival is an important part of life for such a tiny creature.

          The final information about a firefly is their life cycle.  The first stage in their life cycle is their egg.  You may see a glowing egg.  The egg hatches and a larva come out.  They will eat and eat.  They will shed their skin.  It finally makes a pupa and will become an adult firefly.  This is a complete metaphor.  It’s hard to believe how many changes one small bug can go through.

          Maybe you can find a firefly in your own back yard.  It will be pretty easy because you will see their light flashing on and of like twinkling Christmas lights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lightning Bug

By: Ellie

            On a starry night you might think you see a moving star, but you don’t! You really see firelies gliding through the air. Fireflies are spectacular insects. You’d be lucky to see one!

       You are about to enter a world that only talks about what fireflies look like and other physical features they have.  A firefly’s body including the antennae is one &one half inches long. Fireflies have a head, a thorax, abdomen, antennae, six legs, wings, and a light. Fireflies also have two big eyes. A firefly’s eyes can see in many different directions. Antennas help fireflies feel, smell, and hear. A firefly has an orange blackish belly .there are more than 2,000 kinds of fireflies. That’s lucky for us!  That’s because we can see more of these beautiful insects more often.

            Fireflies count on their environment.  Now let’s talk about their environment, preferred temperature, and where they live.  Fireflies live in grass and wooded areas that is damp. They prefer to live far away from city light’s.  Member’s of the firefly family live on all the continents except Antarctica.  The most common firefly near the Rochester area is the pyralis.  Fireflies live above ground &come out at night.  If you live in one of these places maybe you could find one!

            Did you ever wonder how fireflies survive?  They have tons of enemies, and with cold winters it must be tough to be a firefly!  Lizards, frogs, birds, and spiders are a firefly’s enemy.  Fireflies inject poison into their predator’s and prey’s body.  Fireflies eat slugs, earth worms, snails, insect larvae and sometimes other fireflies!  Adult fireflies feed on nectar or nothing at all. I don’t know about you, but earth worms are the last thing on my list!  It would not be easy for me to survive like that.

            Egg, larvae, pupa, adult!  That’s right we’re going to learn about each stage of the firefly’s life cycle.  A firefly begins life as a glowing egg. When the egg hatches a small worm comes out.  That’s the larva stage. The larva shed’s its skin and keeps getting bigger.  Fireflies live for 5 to 30 day’s.  One of the stages is also called a glowworm.  If you didn’t know already, fireflies have a complete metamorphosis.

            When a starry night comes, and you’re outside be careful, you just might confuse a shooting star with a firefly. But don’t worry, most people do!

 

 

 

cited sources: V.Ewiki,

magicschoolbus:insects, firefly