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July 27, 2005 - A thousand points of light12A • The Suffolk Times - July 21, 2005 A thousand points of light YOU CAN SURE TELL summer has ar- rived when you are greeted in the eve- ning by fireflies, or, as some call them, lightning bugs Actually they are not bugs or flies; they are beetles There's nothing like those blinking, soft green- ish fights to take us back to our young- er years when as kids we'd collect them in a jar and proudly show them off to our parents.Their glow was as mys- FOCU 5 terious then as it ON is today. I can't remem- ber ever seeing as many fireflies by Paul as there were Stouterlburgh this past week. It seemed their spots of fight were in the lawn, on the bushes and in the air. Everywhere we looked, our world was spotted by those tiny bits of light The timing of these lights I'm told is somewhat controlled by tempera- ture. On cool nights the flash is slower than on warm nights We're told scientists still can't re- produce the light given off by fireflies Most light, whether it is sunlight or the fight from your desk lamp, gives off heat. Yet here is a lowly beetle defying all the rules by producing fight without heat. I've often seen this mysterious fight in other organisms, such as in decayed wood or on some wormlike bits of iri- descence in the sand along the water's edge of the Sound. And how about 1T:T. NEW HOME or RENOVATION Land Clearing, Bulldozing & Excavation Work the phosphorescence in the bay? Re- member when you were a kid and you went swimming at night and the water was alive with tiny bits of phosphores- cence that slithered down your body as you stood up? And how about the phosphorescence churned up by the propeller of your boat? Looking over the stem, you would see a glowing path wherever water was disturbed, creating a virtual luminescent path behind your boat. During the years of World War H (I guess we have to label them as they come along), I was in New Guinea, aboard a supply ship that visited out- posts all along the norther shore of this then little -known island. Whenever we docked we'd go ashore in hopes of and Lawncare Corp. Seeding/Sod • Shrubs/Flower Beds Backhoe & Tractor Work Dry Wells/Driveways • Grading/Retaining Walls • Walkways F�III Lawn/Yard Maintenance 631- 765 -9693 Call for Free Consultation 1 cen 03100 }t1 The past week has given us many great nights of firefly shows. It Is still a mystery to scientists how this little beetle creates light without producing heat. It possesses chemicals used in today's medl- cal research through- out the world. Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Sloutmbu,gh seeing a movie. It was usually shown in a crude setting; a portable screen that blew in the wind, some logs to sit on, and a movie projector that always seemed to break down at the most critical time. Nevertheless, we were glad to see the movies whenever they were available. On our way back from what was la- beled "Tire Greatest Shows On Earth;' we passed by a scene that stopped us in our tracks. There was a bush covered with lightning bugs, and what made it so unusual to us was that they all blinked in unison. It was as if someone flipped a switch and they all fit up at once and then the switch would be flipped again and the bush would be in total darkness This show of blinking lights I'm sure kept on long after we had gone. The American Indians often painted their bodies with a mixture of earthen colors, plant coloring and — you guessed it — the glowing parts of fire- tliesThis smeared on themselves made them more visible in the darkness In the Dark Ages, when ignorance ruled the world, Europeans thought that if a firefly flew in the window of their home, death was soon to follow; somewhat like the myth today of an owl's hooting bringing bad luck. But let's get back to our own back- yard fireflies After the blinking fights of the male firefly have done their job and located the wingless female (she has responded with her flashing light), mating takes place. Soon after, her eggs are laid in a suitable damp place on the ground. In about three weeks the young hatch into a larval stage. SPEONK I I Andersen ►Y o „��'t Serving the entire North Fork FREE DELIVERY 325 -0303 www.speonklumber.com They are ravenous eaters that consume minute shtgs, earthworms, crustaceans, mites and other creatures The young spend one and sometime two years on the ground, sometimes hidden under old bark and other de- bris Then they emerge as adults to fly about, blinking their taillights in hopes of finding a wingless female so the cycle of life can continue. This fording a mate becomes more difficult when we realize that there are 50 males to each female — pretty tough odds There are over 170 different species of fireflies in North America. Most give off the familiar cold fight we see in the fireflies in our back yards. This light contains two very important chemicals, luciferin and luciferase, that are used in medical research throughout the world. The firefly's chemicals are used in the study of heart disease, muscular dystrophy, urology, antibiotic testing, and many other areas of medicine. Special electronic detectors, using firefly chemicals, have been placed in spacecrafts to look for earth -like forms in outer space. There are even companies that will buy your fireflies The largest known buyer is Sigma Chemical Company in Missouri. Sounds to me like catching fireflies would be a pretty tough way to earn a living. Just in case you think you might be interested, here Scientists is an example of what they pay. still can't Someone turning reproduce in 75,000 fireflies the light would be paid g at the rate of given off by one cent each, fireflies. or $750. I think that's one job I71 leave to someone else. But that com- panies are interested in buying fireflies does show the possibility of hidden medical wonders from the insect world. While we're on the subject of insects, have any of you come across that mon- ster of all bugs called the long -homed beetle? You'd never miss it, for it's huge — the body is over an inch and a half long, and that's not counting its one - inch -long feelers We were introduced to this monster one night last week when Barbara thought she heard a mouse inside the partitions Being ever curious, she traced the sound (which only she could hear) to the bathroom window. What had happened, we think, was that when it looked like rain, we dosed the win- dow, and in doing so we trapped this over -sized beetle in between the win- dow and screen. Later identification proved it to be one of the many species of long -homed beetles No wonder our cat would run down the hall, then back to its favorite cush- ion, then five or 10 minutes later down the hall it would run. She'd stay there till Mr. Beetle stopped moving, then interest would wane and she'd come back. It's remarkable how sensitive cat's ears are. She knew where the scratching was coming from even be- fore Barbara's sharp ears had found it. And so ends our insect encounter. Do take in that free show of fight - ning bugs.There's never a better time to reacquaint yourself with one of Nature's great nighttime shows iuffolk Times • July 21, 2005 thousand points of light ..rww You CAN SURE TELL summer has ar- rived when you are greeted in the eve- ning by fireflies, or, as some call them, lightning bugs. Actually they are not bugs or flies; they are beetles. There's nothing like those blinking, soft green- ish lights to take us back to our young- er years when as kids we'd collect therr in a jar and proudly show them off to our parents. Theis glow was as mys- Fbc U $ terious then as it is today. ON I can't remem- N ATU R E ber ever seeing as many fireflies by Paul as there were Stoutenburgh this past week. It seemed their N The past week has given us many great nights of firefly shows. It is still a mystery to scientists how this little beetle creates light without producing heat. It possesses chemicals used in today's medi- cal research through- out the world. Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh spots of light were in the lawn, on the bushes and in the air. Everywhere we looked, our world was spotted by those tiny bits of light. The timing of these lights I'm told is somewhat controlled by tempera- ture. On cool nights the flash is slower than on warm nights. We're told scientists still can't re- produce the light given off by fireflies. Most light, whether it is sunlight or the light from your desk lamp, gives off heat. Yet here is a lowly beetle defying all the rules by producing light without heat. I've often seen this mysterious light in other organisms, such as in decayed wood or on some wormlike bits of iri- descence in the sand along the water's dl-e of the Sound. And how about the phosphorescence m the bay'! Re- member when you were a kid and you went swimming at night and the water was alive with tiny bits of phosphores- cence that slithered down your body as you stood up? And how about the phosphorescence churned up by the propeller of your boat? Looking over the stern, you would see a glowing path wherever water was disturbed, creating a virtual luminescent path behind your boat. During the years of World War II (I guess we have to label them as they come along), I was in New Guinea, aboard a supply ship that visited out- posts all along the northern shore of this then little -known island. Whenever we docked we'd go ashore in hopes of seeing a movie. It was usually shown in a crude setting; a portable screen that blew in the wind, some logs to sit on, and a movie projector that always seemed to break down at the most critical time. Nevertheless, we were glad to see the movies whenever they were available. On our way back from what was la- beled "The Greatest Shows On Earth," we passed by a scene that stopped us in our tracks. There was a bush covered with lightning bugs, and what made it so unusual to us was that they all blinked in unison. It was as if someone flipped a switch and they all lit up at once and then the switch would be flipped again and the bush would be in total darkness. This show of blinking lights I'm sure kept on long after we had gone. The American Indians often painted their bodies with a mixture of earthen colors, plant coloring and — you guessed it — the glowing parts of fire - flies. This smeared on themselves mad them more visible in the darkness. In the Dark Ages, when ignorance ruled the world, Europeans thought that if a firefly flew in the window of their home, death was soon to follow; somewhat like the myth today of an owl's hooting bringing bad luck. But let's get back to our own back- yard fireflies. After the blinking lights of the male firefly have done their job and located the wingless female (she has responded with her flashing light), mating takes place. Soon after, her eggs are laid in a suitable damp place on the ground. In about three weeks the vouna hatch into a larval stage. iey are ravenous eaters that consume inute slugs, earthworms, crustaceans, ites and other creatures. The young spend one and sometime ,o years on the ground, sometimes dden under old bark and other de- is. Then they emerge as adults to fly lout, blinking their taillights in hopes finding a wingless female so the cle of life can continue. This finding a ate becomes more difficult when we alize that there are 50 males to each male — pretty tough odds. There are over 170 different species fireflies in North America. Most give f the familiar cold light we see in the eflies in our back yards. This light ntains two very important chemicals, ciferin and luciferase, that are used medical research throughout the )rld. The firefly's chemicals are used the study of heart disease, muscular ,strophy, urology, antibiotic testing, id many other areas of medicine. )ecial electronic detectors, using -efly chemicals, have been placed in acecrafts to look for earth -like forms outer soace. There are even companies that will buy your fireflies. The largest known buyer is Sigma Chemical Company in Missouri. Sounds to me like catching fireflies would be a pretty tough way to earn a living. Just in case you think you might be interested, here Scientists is an example of what they pay. still can't Someone turning reproduce in 75,000 fireflies the light would be paid at the rate of given off by one cent each, fireflies. or $750. I think that's one job I'll leave to someone else. But that com- panies are interested in buying fireflies does show the possibility of hidden medical wonders from the insect world. While we're on the subject of insects, have any of you come across that mon- ster of all bugs called the long -horned beetle? You'd never miss it, for it's huge — the body is over an inch and a half long, and that's not counting its one -inch -long feelers. We were introduced to this monster one night last week when Barbara thought she heard a mouse inside the partitions. Being ever curious, she traced the sound (which only she could hear) to the bathroom window. What had happened, we think, was that when it looked like rain, we closed the win- dow, and in doing so we trapped this over -sized beetle in between the win- dow and screen. Later identification proved it to be one of the many species of long -homed beetles. No wonder our cat would run down the hall, then back to its favorite cush- ion, then five or 10 minutes-later down the hall it would run. She'd stay there till Mr. Beetle stopped moving, then interest would wane and she'd come back. It's remarkable how sensitive cat's ears are. She knew where the scratching was coming from even be- fore Barbara's sharp ears had found it. And so ends our insect encounter. Do take in that free show of light- ning bugs. There's never a better time to reacquaint yourself with one of Nature's ereat niehttime shows.