As I watched from yard at dusk, childhood memories flew in as randomly as the fireflies the neighborhood children were trying to catch. Whether it was in the old neighborhood, visiting the grandparents or on vacation, there had been something about the bright glow of fireflies that prompted me to try to catch them.

And more memories…….falling asleep on a warm summer night, watching the captured fireflies blink in a bedside jar. My mom would have perforated the lid, and I would have added such leaves and grass as I'd thought would make the fireflies feel at home.In the morning, I'd wake to find the jar and fireflies gone. My mom would always let them go as soon as we kids were asleep. As I watched Lexie and Cameron Chilinskas, Barnesville, romp in their grandparents' (Bill and Karen Chilinskas) back yard, I hoped they were making similar memories. The two are the children of Matt and Michelle Chilinskas.As I watched Lexie and Cameron laughing happily during their pursuits, I realized how little I knew about fireflies. Most of us know that within their abdomens a chemical production takes place which gives them bioluminescence. What else was there to know?Well, I'll tell you, it's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and also a lightning bug-eat-lightning bug world….There are more than 2,000 species of lightning bugs and nearly all of those are nocturnal. In one area such as a backyard, there may be as many as two dozen different species and the flash pattern is unique to each species. They are actually winged beetles.The flashing pattern is to attract a mate of the same species. The females wait in trees, shrubs and grasses, near the ground, and the males are flying about, trying to identify females with the right flash pattern.And yet, in the crazy world of Mother Nature, the female fireflies sometimes mimic the flash pattern of another species. No, they're not seeking to mate with a firefly from another species, they are seeking to lure them in and eat them!In fact, the adult firefly lives only long enough to eat and lay eggs. The larvae emerge in the spring and feed on other larvae, slugs and snails for a week or two until they become adults.Want to encourage some kids to start their own memories of catching fireflies? Here are some tips:Near the edge of a yard, leave some long grass. The adults like to hang around in long grass, fallen logs and leaf litter. They also like to linger near water sources such as small ponds and streams.Turn off outside lights.Outfit the firefly catchers with butterfly nets, which make the catching much easier. You can also outfit them with headlamps which have a red or blue only light, which does not seem to alarm the fireflies.The adults can hold the jars, with the perforated lids, with a damp paper towel on the bottom - the lightning bugs prefer a humid atmosphere. They should be released while it's still dark. Use plastic jars instead of glass.Neat fact: There are two places in the United States where fireflies blink in unison, an amazing sight which is most often experienced during the first weeks of June. Those places are Elkmont, Tennessee, in the Great Smoky Mountains, and Congaree National Park, South Carolina.