The Fireflies and Luminous Insects

Since ancient times, the light emitted by fireflies and glow-worms has attracted the curiosity of people. Descriptions of the phenomena are frequently found in old poems, songs and folklores of many countries. Old scientific studies of these phenomena are also numerous, particularly after the 17th century. However, the chemical study was not begun until the early 20th century. 

The fireflies, railroad worms, and click beetles use the same luciferin in their luminescence reactions. Recent studies on the railroad worms and the click beetles have greatly contributed to the biochemical understanding of the firefly bioluminescence (see Section 1.2). Concerning luminous Diptera, significant progress has been made only recently. 

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