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When I was a child, on most summer evenings we found a jar, punched holes in the lid and went outside to catch lightning bugs.

We’d run around the yard, our bare feet getting cold and wet from dew forming on the grass, until Mama called us into the house for our baths.

This summer, I shared those memories and the fun with my 3-year-old grandson, Sean. He was a little nervous the first time I plucked one out of the air and gently put it into his tiny, cupped hands. But when the bug lit up, so did his face.

Now he has a peanut butter jar that we keep on the screen porch for his visits. He’s a quick learner — he knows to put grass in it before he starts his hunt and can catch a jar full all by himself.

He thinks they’re magic. But like most things in this modern world, there is a scientific explanation.

The light the bugs generate is caused by a chemical reaction of enzymes, phosphates and substrates combined with oxygen. The result produces nearly 100 percent light, in contrast to a light bulb, which produces only 10 percent light and 90 percent heat with its chemical reaction. That’s why the bugs’ abdomens, as everyone who has caught them knows, are not warm.

It is believed that the insects, which are a type of beetle, control their light flashes by controlling the oxygen flow to their “photo organ.” They use their light both for defense — to signal to predators that they contain a bad-tasting chemical called lucibufagens — and to attract mates.

The lightning bugs Sean and I catch probably are all males. The routine in the world of lightning bug courtship is that the males fly around flashing their lights until they catch the attention of a female on the grass below.

When a female sees a male of her liking, she flashes back until he finds her. Like many humans, female lightning bugs are most attracted to flashy males — those with increased flash rates, that is.

There are many species of lightning bugs, and each has its own specific flash pattern. Some females actually mimic the flash patterns of other lightning bug species to attract and then eat them.

Lightning bugs live about 2 years, but most of that time is spent as grubs in the soil, where they eat slugs and other nuisance bugs. Gardeners should consider them beneficial insects, especially since adult lightning bugs help pollination by eating mostly nectar.

For no known reason, lightning bugs are not found west of Kansas, so I have no idea how kids occupy themselves on summer nights out there.

Interestingly, a species of lightning bug called P. Carolinus that lives only in a small area of the Smokey Mountains near Elkmont, Tenn., lights up in unison.

The bugs come out about 10 p.m. each night in mid-June . They are dark for six seconds, and then in perfect synchrony they light up six times in a three-second period before they all go dark for six more seconds.

One of these days, I’m going on a June camping trip in the mountains so I can watch that.

If you want to attract our twinkling varieties of Rockingham County lightning bugs to your yard, it is important to avoid using pesticides, especially antibeetle types.

Also, don’t mow your grass too short or disturb your soil too much, and avoid using strong outside lighting because that makes it hard for them to find each other for mating.

Now, forget everything I told you about science.

Grab a jar, punch some holes in the lid, and go out this evening and make magic with the special children in your life.

Joni Carter lives in the Bethany community. Contact her at writetojonicarter@gmail.com