Lightning Bugs At Night (Fireflies) - Flying and Mating!
I saw fireflies yesterday, flying at night, and even while they were mating, so I thought I'd share some of the magic I saw :).
It has become a tradition now for my friend Joep and I: around the end of June we search for fireflies during a hike in the dark. The specific lightning bug species that lives in my area is the Lampyris Noctiluca; also known as the common glow worm of Europe.
A male firefly of the species Lampyris Noctiluca.
The male fireflies of this species are tiny and can fly, while the females cannot: she's a larviforme, much bigger than the male (with a shinier butt!). Below you can see a GIF from the video of the male and female Lampyris Noctiluca.
A female and male firefly mating.
After mating, the fireflies die. The ones in this video we found in Sweikhuizen and Beek in the south of the The Netherlands.