Be prepared…not everyone will find this larva as attractive as I do, but it is pretty cool and will eventually provide a summer light show in my backyard. I was letting Murphy out when I found a couple of firefly adults on the cherry tree that holds one end of his run. I didn’t make any images of them as I have several, but while wandering the woods out where the beagle stuff goes, I found this larva climbing a birch tree. BugGuide.Net ID’d it for me as I had never seen one and didn’t really know where to start with a larva.
The changes that happen during metamorphosis just amaze me. Here is what it will resemble eventually although a different species.
Something grabbed from the interweb:
Metamorphosis
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
How interesting! That larva looks very dragon-llike.
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Smaug is called a worm, so maybe there a relationship here. It does have that appearance.
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I had the impression of a dragon too.
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It is remarkable how the changes occur. The larvae look nothing like the adult in most cases.
As I said in the post on tht social media site, Mother Nature’s babies aren’t always cute and pretty.
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Especially in the insect world. Beauty has little place in nature. Certain features aid in attracting a mate, but it’s hard to say whether those attributes are recognized as beautiful.
I’m going to edit an image into this reply, so the email notification is not complete. 🙂
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Welllll…..that didn’t work out, so I added it to the original post.
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I have never seen what the larvae look like. Very cool!
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It sure had me fooled.
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Metamorphosis is like a miracle. The amazing and stunning changes of mother nature are well worth your photographic efforts which gives so much added interest to the many unknown happenings in our environment.
Have you ever done any presentations at some of the local kindergarten or elementary schools?
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It is a miracle, Yvonne. I was a pretty goofy teen before my metamorphosis.
No, I haven’t. The fears of public speaking and children prevent me from doing that. I did a slideshow for a local photography group two years that was ok but way out of my comfort zone.
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I grew up with fireflies on Long Island but I believe their numbers have declined a lot in the decades since then. I was glad to see a couple of fireflies lighting up in Austin last night.
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Judging by my yard last year, I think they are making a comeback.
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Let’s hope so. The time stamp on your comment makes it seem that you’re having an early comeback yourself. Perhaps by now you’ve already been out photographing for a good while this morning.
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No such luck, Steve. It was a workday and I woke early…just like today. Some folks can go out for a short while before work but it’s rare that I am able.
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By the way, when I was a kid we often called fireflies lighting bugs. Was (is) that name common in Massachusetts too?
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Yes we did…glow worms too.
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I don’t think we used the term “glow worm” on Long Island, but I distinctly remember the song that used it:
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When I commented earlier on the phone it wouldn’t let me copy the embed link, just like with the wild geranium, but I was going to share that same video. It was between the Nat King Cole show or Sammy Davis Jr. I preferred Nat King Cole.
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I guess I’m psychic.
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Lady Bird Larva have a similar metamorphosis, from a dragon looking bug to a smooth shelled beauty. Lovely photos.
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Yes, lady beetles are cool too. Thanks, Ben.
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The larvae are so well camouflaged they look like something from a fern or a seed head. And that cartoon is priceless.
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Absolutely, Bunty. If this larva had been on other than a white birch I may not have noticed it. I wish that I had dreamt up that cartoon.
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That’s called a holometabolous moult … one accompanied by dramatic structural change (compare to ametabolous and hemimetabolous moults). Couldn’t resist …. just discussed this in lecture the other day. I’m gonna cut-n-paste the cartoon – perfect! Nice photo … much appreciated.
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I am glad that you defined the moults although I am fairly confident that I will not remember the terms a week from now. Quite a coincidence that you lectured on the subject so recently.
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I laughed out loud at that cartoon. Smart and funny is a great combination.
I love lightning bugs, but confess I had no idea they had such an interesting life cycle. We just accepted them as they showed up on July evenings, caught a few in a jar to set on the window sill overnight, and then let them out in the morning. They put on a great show along many of the small creeks and streams in the hill country. Just at dusk, they’ll start rising up in great, flickering clouds that are just delightful.
One of my favorite Mark Twain quotations involves lightning bugs. In a letter written to George Bainton on October 15, 1888, he said, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter–it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
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Yes, it’s a great cartoon. I admire folks who can dream up such good humor.
As Steve mentioned earlier, we had a decline in fireflies a few years ago, but the last few have seen a bit of a return which I hope continues. Summer nights just aren’t the same without them. I did the same…capturing them in jars for the evening before releasing them. In retrospect, I guess we caused a lot of frustration by doing that.
I have been guilty of the “almost right word” a little too often. I responded to Steve above that we also called lightning bugs glow worms. Of course, that was a little mistaken on our part as they aren’t really the same thing. Almost the right word, I guess.
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If I’d seen the larva on an hike, I’d never have guessed it would turn out to be a stage of the firefly. What an astounding transformation, and thanks for opening our eyes–yet again!
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Thank goodness for BugGuide. I’d probably still be page flipping trying to ID this otherwise.
There is so much to see out there and one can always find something new and amazing.
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I have seen firefly larva and they are very impressive. Excellent photos Steve. Murphy the Firefly Tracker!
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Thanks, Andrew. The Murph is quite the tracker, but the poor guy is spooked by flying insects. If one gets in the house he hides. 😦
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I’ll be chuckling over that one for the rest of the day, Steve 🙂
I would have never guessed that that larva would turn into a lightening bug. The larva of dragonflies can look quite alarming (and delightful) as well.
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I wish I had come up with it, Melissa. 🙂
There is so much to see and learn in nature.
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