Abstract
When a firefly is made to inhale ethyl acetate vapour, a constant glow appears after a few minutes from its abdominal lantern. This control experiment has been performed by a few workers to record the emission spectrum of the firefly. However, a time-resolved experiment performed by us on this continuous light emitted by the species Luciola praeusta Kiesenwetter 1874 (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Luciolinae) reveals that it is composed of a continuous train of tiny pulses! The nature of the pulses suggests that an oscillatory chemical reaction continues in the microsecond time scale in the lantern of the anaesthetized firefly.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Barry J D, Heitman J M and Lane C R 1979 Time-resolved spectrometry of in vivo firefly bioluminescence emissions; J. Appl. Phys. 50 7181–7184
Belousov B P 1959 A periodic reaction and its mechanism; Compilation Abs. Radiation Med. 147 145
Biggley W H, Lloyd J E and Seliger H H 1967 The spectral distribution of firefly light II; J. Gen. Physiol. 50 1681–1692
Branham M A and Greenfield M D 1996 Flashing males win mate success; Nature (London) 381 745–746
Buck J H 1948 The anatomy and physiology of the light organ in fireflies; Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 49 397–482
Buck J, Case J F and Hansen F E 1963 Control of flashing in fireflies III. Peripheral excitation; Biol. Bull. 125 251–269
Ghiradella H 1998 The anatomy of light production: the fine structure of the firefly lantern; in Microscopic anatomy of invertebrates, Vol 11A, Insecta (eds) F W Harrison and M Locke (New York: Wiley-Liss) pp 363–381
Gohain Barua A, Hazarika S, Saikia N M and Baruah G D 2009 Bioluminescence emissions of the firefly Luciola praeusta Kiesenwetter 1874 (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Luciolinae); J. Biosci. 34 287–292
Lloyd J E 1973 Fireflies of Melanesia: bioluminescence, mating behaviour, and synchronous flashing (Coleoptera: Lampyridae); Environ. Entomol. 2 991–1008
Saikia J, Changmai R and Baruah G D 2001 Bioluminescence of fireflies and evaluation of firefly pulses in light of oscillatory chemical reactions; Indian J. Pure Appl. Phys. 39 825–828
Seliger H H, Buck J B, Fastie W G and McElroy W D 1964 The spectral distribution of firefly light; J. Gen. Physiol. 48 95–104
Trimmer B A, Aprille J R, Dudzinski D M, Lagace C J, Lewis S M, Michel T, Qazi S and Zayas R M 2001 Nitric oxide and the control of firefly flashing; Science 292 2486–2488
Zhabotinsky A M 1964 Periodic processes of malonic acid oxidation in a liquid phase; Biofizika 9 306–311
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barua, A.G., Rajbongshi, S. The light of the firefly under the influence of ethyl acetate. J Biosci 35, 183–186 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-010-0022-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-010-0022-6