Use an LED Light to Make a Firefly Lantern
Want a natural nightlight? Try making a firefly lantern.
Step 1: Make a mesh container from a piece of fiberglass window screen. Roll it into a tube with overlapping ends. Staple the tube together leaving a two-inch opening to slip fireflies through. Cap off each end with a plastic lid and duct tape.
Step 2: To use a female decoy firefly to catch males, connect the leads from a green LED light to two six-foot lengths of insulated copper wire. Attach one of the wires to a 9-volt battery. To make your “female firefly” flash, touch the second wire to the battery. Keep the light six feet away from you. (Fireflies avoid humans.)
Step 3: To crack the fireflies’ code, watch a female in the grass answer a flying male’s signal. Note how long she waits before flashing a response. With your LED light inside an open container, mimic the female’s pattern.
Step 4: Put any males that arrive into your lantern. At least 40 fireflies per lantern should give you plenty of light. Release them, unharmed, the next day.
cool, but where I live you don’t need lights just wait till one flashes within 5 feet of you then walk over and scoop it with your hand. if you can’t find it it will probably flash again in a few seconds
I love fireflies! So making this next summer!
cant do this where I live… too cold
This was a great project I did with a group of kids. I used green and yellow Christmas tree lights instead of the LED, which still worked well. Also, you only need a AA battery if you use the Christmas tree light. This might make finding supplies much easier.
oh yea, and the led light can be stripped out of an electrical appliance that is no longer working. more recycling!
>To crack the firefliesā code, watch a female in the grass answer a flying maleās signal.
Um, sure. If I could find a female in the grass, I doubt I’d be building firefly lanterns.
it would take less than 30m
thats pritty cool!
its hard to get this stuff
I want to make this but I have to wait till next spring.
its cool but it would take to loong to make
Where do you get the wires and led light?
Also do the males just fly in and stay there if you use the led light or do you need to like run over and put them in?
please reply
dollar store
Exactly.
That is really sweet, except for 1 thing. Where are you going to get two six-foot lengths of insulated copper wire?
Hobby Lobby or other similar store
Awsome
Good idea compared with using a net. I used to go firefly catching and half the fireflies I caught would fall out of the net and die.
Very smart i will make it
man thats hard but cool anyway
it’s hard dude!!
what if you capture real fireflies
isnt that the point?
thats the hard way to do it
Hey, this is COOL!!!!!
Awesome
I dont know what I would do without Boy’s Life!!!!
Hey, BTSR in texas is a great place for fire fly catching during summer! I almost swollowed a couple ’cause they were swarming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :^)
Sounds cool. But, wouldn’t the lantern act like a strobe light, seeing as how fireflies flash their lights rather than run them steadily? And 40 fireflies? Wouldn’t it take a long time to catch them?
make a firefly lantern is cool
nice
Why can’t you just catch fireflies and stick them in a jar with air holes?
too bad there’s no fireflies where I live.
Where do they live anyway?
Very awesome uber cool
cool