A Wonderleaf question
Why do fireflies glow?
a real page from the book
Fireflies glow because chemicals in their lower bodies react with oxygen and make light. They can control the flashes by managing when oxygen reaches those chemicals. The light is mostly cool, so the insect is not heating itself up like a tiny lamp.
The flashes are messages. Different kinds of fireflies use different timing patterns, often to help males and females find the right partner. The glow can also warn hungry animals that this bug is a bad-tasting bite, which makes one small flicker do several jobs.
Wonder words
- luciferin
- oxygen
- enzyme
- species
Try it out
Sit outside at dusk and make gentle flashlight patterns, then invent what each pattern could mean.
Read the whole picture book
Watercolour scenes, straight answers, about three minutes cover to cover.
Open the picture bookKeep wondering
- Why do whales explode into giant feeding frenzies together?
- How do dung beetles steer by the stars?
- How do spiders spin webs?
And the next question?
Ask anything — Wonderleaf writes and illustrates a picture book for it. That's the whole idea.
Ask your own question