Beth Ann Winter, age 8, of Lancaster, Pa., for her question:

WHAT DO LIGHTNING BUGS EAT?

The life of a lightning bug starts with an egg, resting among fallen leaves on the ground. It hatches into a grubby little caterpillar. This is the hungry stage of his life  and he may eat enough to last for the rest of his life. The famished fellow is a meat eater and eats almost any little creature he can find on the ground. These junior lightning bugs eat all sorts of other insects and even a few snails and slugs. Some types eat plant roots and a few leaves, but most eat only meat.

After the lightning bug caterpillar has eaten all he can, he takes a rest. He enfolds himself in a stiff shell and becomes a pupa, while his body goes through a great change. When he hatches, he is a grown up lightning bug with wings. This stage of his life does not last very long  and as a rule he does not eat anything at all.