BY KIM ATIENZA
At the height of this on-going lockdown, in certain towns and cities, people reported witnessing the return of fireflies in their communities.
Scientists and environmentalists said that cleaner air lured back fireflies to their old habitats in places close to where humans live.
Fireflies are among the most mysterious insects for obvious reasons. They are the only insect in the insect kingdom that can flash what seems like electric light coming from its belly, illuminating trees where they settle in flocks.
Fireflies light up due to a chemical reaction inside their bodies that allows them to flicker.
These insects are nocturnal. They come out at night and that’s when most of them glow in the dark.
Those that shine brightest are the males that are involved in mating. Males are glowing and pulsing and flashing lights in a sequence that is very species-specific so that females can identify them as from the same species, says Google.
Fireflies are also known as lightning bugs in parts of the United States.
They are, however, neither flies nor bugs. They’re softwinged beetles, related to click beetles.
According to Quirks & Quarks, a few species of fireflies are diurnal in the daytime, so they don’t usually glow.
Fireflies are also known as glow worms in Europe, or lightning bugs in other countries.
This amazing ability in a living organism is called bioluminescence. It is relatively rare.
ATING ALAMIN: Some fishes can fly? Totoo po ba?
There’s the so-called Flying Fish, and they can fly up to 2 meters high out of the water.
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Send your questions on anything and everything to Kuya Kim through my Twitter account @kuyakim_atienza using #AlaminKayKuyaKim.
