It’s not easy counting fireflies. Across North America, there are an estimated 170 fireflies species, which are technically beetles in the order Coleoptera, but inventorying them is a challenge. While ...

Even though insects are often called bugs, and though this less-than-flattering term is rightly applied to only one group of insects, it is often used to include all those with six legs and connotes ...

Warm summer night skies often sparkle as fireflies flash and twinkle across the firmament. Called lightning bugs by many people, fireflies, are actually winged beetles. They have an organ in their ...

After placing the captive firefly in a plastic bag, wildlife biologist Jason Davis tried to confirm its identity as a member of the rare photuris bethaniensis species. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY) This ...

Many plants, animals and insects are moving to higher elevations to escape the effects of a warming climate, but a strategy that is useful today may threaten their long-term future. Researchers at the ...

A quintessential summer scene is a backyard illuminated with the fluorescent twinkle of lightning bugs—or fireflies? Err, wait—is it firefly vs. lightning bug? That’s a great question and one that has ...

For plenty of people, a park populated by thousands of flying insects sounds more like a nightmare than a fun day out. But the concept becomes more appealing when it’s revealed that those bugs are all ...

When dinosaurs roamed Earth, their surroundings looked very different than the world of today. But there were also some similarities. And now scientists have confirmed a new one: Diverse firefly ...