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Sarasota News Leader April 5, 2013 Page 73 er than waiting to be courted, the female actively seeks out her mate, and in four of the six Florida species, the female then lays her eggs — up to 150 of them — on the male's back, and he carries and protects them until they hatch. That is paternal care to an almost unimaginable extreme. I have provided a superb photo of Mr. Mom with those eggs on his back. As long as we are on the topic of sex and reproduction, let me get to the "electric light bug" nickname. Letho grows rather lethargic during our cooler winter days and hangs around the water. Come spring, when love is in the air, Letho begins its nocturnal search for a mate. While it is flying around displaying its size and powerful physique and emitting In the other two species, the eggs are depos- pheromones (a male sexual scent), it will be ited on a plant leaf and guarded by Mr. Mom. drawn to light bulbs, much as the proverbial 'Mr. Mom' carries the eggs on his back until they hatch. Photo by noisecollusion via Flickr and Wikimedia Commons