The first fireflies are out here in Umbria, and can be seen at dusk, zooming round the garden flashing like tiny airborne belisha beacons. The firefly is in fact a type of beetle. 90% of the energy it uses to produce the light actually goes into light, making it 9 times as efficient as an electric light bulb.
The Italian for firefly, lucciola, is also the slang for a prostitute. Peter Hobday, the former Radio 4 presenter, lives in the charmingly named Val delle lucciole, which he refers to as Tarts Valley.
The Italian for ‘to get hold of the wrong end of the stick’ is ‘to mistake a firefly for a lantern’
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