Christine Lavin

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/science/30firefly.html?ref=science

This song contains important information (important to fireflies, anyway.  Hint:  look for the phrase "mayonnaise jar")

A FIREFLY'S LIFE

I'm a girl firefly out tonight
Sitting in the summer grass
Waiting for boy fireflies to fly by
And signal me as they pass

For every one of me there's ten of them
Those odds suit me fine
They're gonna have to compete
To get to meet me
But I get to choose which one will be mine

Theres 2,000 species of fireflies
That have been discovered so far
You can tell by the pattern of our blinky butts
Exactly what species we are

There's Pyractomena Angulata
Photinus Ignatus
And my my gang Photinus Greeni
So Im a flirty Photi girl
Waiting for that special flashy fun guy (that's insect humor)

A firefly's life is short and sweet
Only lasts two weeks long
Most of that time is spent looking for love
Our romantic feelings are strong

For two years before this I was larvae in the dirt
Eating earthworms snails and slugs
Now I only have 14 days
to live the life of a lightning bug

Though that name is a misnomer
I'm not a bug at all
Fireflies are in the beetle family
You know what drives us up the wall?

Photuris!  Those firefly femme fatales
With their deceptive sneak attack
They turn lonely lovesick boy fireflies
into a crunchy midnight snack

Yes it's a world of love and danger
Out here in the dark
Every summer night you can see us
In the back yard in the park

Please don't try to capture us
We fireflies love to be free
A mayonnaise jar is jail to us
A place we never want to be

Enjoy the show we put on for you
With our bioluminescent lights
Cuddle with your sweethearts while we cuddle with ours
On these lazy summer nights

Yes, a firefly's life is short and sweet
Only lasts two weeks long
Most of that time I'm looking for love
Though I took a little break to write this song
###

Happy July 4th!  If you don't have fireworks to watch tonight, go outside and watch the fireworks in your backyard grass!  

Christine