Activity
Firefly activities: Science and literacy
Why does a firefly light up? Learn firefly fun facts, complete a science experiment and create your own light-up firefly!
Summer is not summer until the fireflies are flashing light bursts of light on a warm summer evening. Help your student who is blind or low vision to learn more about these magical fireflies!
What is a firefly?
Fireflies, also known as lightening bug, are not flies – they are actually beetles! Fireflies are characterized by a winged body with a light-producing organ at the rear of the abdomen. Most species are nocturnal. They range up to 1” in length. The flattened, dark brown or black back is often marked with orange or yellow. Like all insects it has 6 jointed legs, two antennae, compound eyes and a body divided into three parts: head, thorax and abdomen. Fireflies, like all beetles, have a pair of hardened wing cases, called elytra in which the wings fold underneath.
Create a tactile image of a firefly. The image provided below displays the opened wings and has small lines drawn around the last part of the abdomen to indicate the flash of light. This image can be run through a PIAF or Swell machine to create a raised line tactile graphic.
Download the firefly image here.
Fun facts about fireflies
These fun facts include some interesting bits of science! Ask your student to read the facts and then ask a few comprehension questions. Use this as an opportunity to increase the screen reader speed by having the student read the facts at a higher speed. There are some great vocabulary words in these fun facts – can your student find unfamiliar words and look them up on the fly? (Siri, Hey Google or other virtual assistants are an efficient method to quickly find definitions.)
- Fireflies aren’t flies! They are actually beetles.
- There are more than 2,000 species of fireflies worldwide.
- Fireflies light can be green, yellow or orange. The rarest color is the Blue Ghost fireflies, a beautiful, unique firefly species found in the mountains of western North Carolina. They are a distinctive blue-green glow.
- Some fireflies will synchronize their flashes. In the U.S., fireflies in the Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee will synchronize their flashes during the first few weeks of June.
- Each species of fireflies flashes a specific pattern. Male fireflies have a blinking pattern to help them find their mates. Some fireflies only flash once while others will flash a pattern up to nine times. The females sit on the ground and wait until they see an impressive light display, then the female shows interest by responding with a single flash, timed to follow the males’ pattern. The fireflies will have this “conversation” until the male locates the female, and they mate.
- Fireflies only live a few days or weeks.
- Fireflies lay eggs in the ground and the larvae will spend up to two years before they metamorphose into adult fireflies. Firefly larvae are grub-like emit a glow, which is a defense mechanism. The larvae fed on worms, slugs and snails by injecting them with a numbing fluid.
- To produce these flashes of light, fireflies have light organs located under their abdomens. They take in oxygen and combine it inside special cells with a substance called luciferin to produce light with almost no heat.
- Firefly populations all over the world are dwindling. It is believed that light pollution interrupts the firefly flash patterns. Scientists have observed that fireflies will get out of synch for a few minutes after a car’s headlights pass.
Download Fast Facts about Fireflies here.
Note: If working with a younger student, simplify the Fast Facts document to meet your student’s needs.
For students with low vision, use a flashlight in a dark room and ask the student to create firefly blinking light patterns.
Comprehension questions
Here are a couple suggested comprehension questions. Questions should be geared for your student’s capabilities or specific student goals.
- Describe what a firefly looks like.
- How does a firefly produce light?
- What is the purpose of the firefly’s flashing lights?
- What is the purpose of the glowing larva?
- Thought provoking question: What would happen if the firefly’s flashing light produced a heat?
Math questions:
- What year were the eggs laid for the fireflies that we see this summer?
- What year will we see the eggs that were laid this summer?
Vocabulary words:
- Synchronize
- Abdomen
- Defense mechanism
- Incandescent
- Luciferin
Resource
- Five reasons why your students should learn to read at a rate of 600 words per minute (first post in the 600 Word Per Minute series)
Books about Fireflies
There are so many firefly-related books to choose from! Pick books that are age-appropriate for your student. One of my favorite books for younger students that includes some scientific tidbits is Fireflies in the Night by Judy Hawes. Bookshare has an extensive list of books about fireflies.
Fireflies in a jar activity
For many students, a rite of summer is to gently capture fireflies in the evening and put them in a mason jar.
- Poke small holes in the lid so that the fireflies can breath.
- Place a damp towel in the bottom of the jar (fireflies need moisture to survive)
Firefly science experiment
After placing your fireflies in a jar, try these two activities:
- Place a glass jar over a lightbulb (ideally use an incandescent light bulb not an LED). Be careful! Incandescent light bulbs with make the glass jar hot!
- If desired, try different types of light bulbs and/or lightbulbs with different watts and compare the heat. Make simple a chart about the different types of light bulbs and how hot they become.
- Science experiment: Place the jar of fireflies in warm water – warm water will make the fireflies light brighter. Cold water will make the fireflies light dimmer.
Light up fireflies craft
Materials
- Plastic Easer eggs
- Tea light candles (one per egg; needs to fit inside the egg)
- Pipe stem cleaners for antennae (cut in half or smaller) and 6 legs (cut into 4ths)
- Thumb tack (to make the hole to attach the pipe stem cleaner)
- Googly eyes and/or permanent markers
- Tin foil for wings (fold tinfoil – heart shape works well); or, take a plastic spoon and cut the “bowl” from the “handle”. Use the bowl part of the spoon for wings.
- Craft glue or tape (to attach wings)
- Scissors
Tips
- Make sure you can open and close the egg (to turn the tea light on and off); wings and pip stem cleaners should not interfere with opening/closing
- Can hang the fireflies by using thumbtack to create a small hole in the top central portion of the firefly and push fishing thread or sewing thread. Make a knot inside the egg so that the thread will not pull through.
- If the antennae falls out, use duct tape on the inside of the egg to hold the antennae in place.
By Diane Brauner
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