Genji firefly Coloring Pages

The Origin of Its Name and What It Is Called in English

The Genji firefly is a super famous firefly that represents Japan. There is a fun legend behind its name. People say it comes from a big battle long ago between two samurai groups called the Genji and the Heike. The bigger firefly that glows strongly was named the Genji firefly. The smaller one that glows softly was named the Heike firefly.

In English, based on its scientific name, it is called "Luciola cruciata." People around the world also warmly call it the "Genji firefly" or "Japanese firefly."

When Can You See Them?

You can see Genji fireflies dancing in the night sky from early summer, around late May to early July. They love warm, humid nights with no wind during the rainy season, and nights with no moonlight. They fly around the most between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Where Do They Live? Places You Can See Them

The Genji firefly is a special creature found only in Japan. They live near clean streams and small canals in Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Baby fireflies grow up in the water. If the water gets dirty, they cannot survive. So, if you see lots of Genji fireflies flying around, it proves that the water there is super clean!

What Do They Eat? When They Grow Up...

The Genji firefly is an amazing insect that eats completely different things as a baby and as an adult.

• As a baby (larva): They live in the water. They are meat-eating hunters that catch and eat tiny freshwater snails called Kawanina.

• As an adult: When they shed their shell and become adults, their mouths shrink, so they cannot eat food at all! Because of this, adult fireflies live only by licking water drops (dew) off leaves at night.

How Long Do They Live? Their Lifespan

You might hear people say fireflies have very short lives. But from the time they are born, they actually live for about one whole year. Most of that time is spent as a baby in the water. After they turn into adults and open their beautiful wings to fly in the sky, they only live for about one to two weeks. They shine their light of life as hard as they can during that short time.

Why Do They Glow? The Secret of Their Light

Fireflies flash their bottoms to send "love messages" so males and females can find each other in the dark night. The males glow brightly while flying in the sky. The females sit on leaves and glow softly to answer them. They make light at the tip of their belly in a part called the light organ. Special things inside their body mix with oxygen to glow. Unlike a lightbulb, this light does not get hot at all. It is a cool light, which is a neat secret!

Different Glowing Speeds in Different Areas!?

Here is something super fun! The rhythm of their light changes depending on where they live.

• Eastern Japan (like Tokyo): They glow at a slow speed, about once every 4 seconds.

• Western Japan (like Osaka): They glow faster and brightly, about once every 2 seconds. Just like human accents, it is amazing that firefly light signals are different depending on the area!

What They Look Like: A Cross Pattern on Their Chest

If you look closely at their shape, you can see hard wings like a beetle. Their biggest feature is the pretty pink or red color right behind their head, with a black cross pattern right in the middle. This cross helps you easily tell them apart from the Heike firefly, which only has one straight black line in the middle.

Color the Pink Part and the Cross Pattern

Let's start coloring right behind the Genji firefly's face, where its special mark is!

• Base Color: First, color the whole area carefully with a bright pink or red.

• Cross Pattern: Trace the pattern in the middle neatly with a sharp black colored pencil. Making this nice and clear will instantly make it look just like a Genji firefly!

Black Wings and How to Make Them Look Like They Are Flying

Try changing how you color when the wings are closed and when they are open.

• Closed Wings: Color the hard wings that protect its body with a strong, solid black or deep dark brown.

• Open Wings: When you color a flying picture, color the top hard wings black. For the soft back wings spread out underneath, color them gently with light gray or dark brown to make them look see-through. Drawing thin lines for the wing veins will make you look like a real artist!

Light of Life! The Magic Trick to Make the Tummy Glow Bright

This is the best part! Here is a trick to make the glowing part on its bottom look real.

• Light Color: First, color the tip of the tummy strongly with bright yellow or yellow-green.

• Spreading Light Effect: Around that part, blend light yellow softly outward in a circle. After coloring the background, gently erase a small circle around its bottom with an eraser. This makes the light look like it is glowing softly into the sky, and it looks super cool!

Make the Firefly the Star in a Dark Night Sky

The background color is super important to make the firefly's pretty light stand out the most.

• Night Sky Color: Color all around it nicely with deep navy blue or solid black. The darker the background is, the more the Genji firefly's pink body and yellow light will pop out!

• River Scene: Color a pretty river by its feet with deep blue, and color the grass around it with deep green.

• Lights Around It: Use a yellow pencil to add lots of little light dots in the empty spaces around the firefly. This creates a magical early summer night scene, with lots of friends dancing together in the sky!

Do they flash to a different rhythm in eastern and western Japan?

The Genji firefly flashes at different speeds depending on where it lives. Fireflies in eastern Japan flash once every 4 seconds. Fireflies in western Japan flash once every 2 seconds. Fireflies in western Japan are a bit faster and seem busier!

Grown-ups do not eat food at all!

Grown-up fireflies fly around and glow so pretty. But actually, grown-ups do not eat any food at all. Their mouth parts are tiny. They only drink clean night dew on leaves. They live only on the food they saved up when they were larvae.

Larvae live in the water

There are about 2,000 kinds of fireflies in the world. But most fireflies grow up on land. Fireflies like the Genji firefly that spend their larva stage in the water are very rare in the whole world!

They love to eat "Kawanina" snails in the water

When they are larvae in the water, they grow big by eating lots of snails called Kawanina. So, for the Genji firefly to grow big and healthy, we need rich and clean rivers where lots of these snails can live.

Almost all the fireflies flying around are boys

Most of the fireflies you see floating in the air at night are boys. The boys fly around showing off their bright light. They look for girls that are sitting quietly on leaves and glowing softly.

Firefly light is not hot at all

Light bulbs and candles are hot when you touch them. But firefly light is not hot at all. This light is called "cold light." Special things inside their bodies react to make light without making heat.