Lightning Bugs

So last night I was outside around midnight and saw a lightning bug. It was fast, and it flew through the yard with short bursts of light. Either that, or there were about 20 bugs all in a row that looked like a beleivable flight-path.

And what's with these bugs anyway? When I was a kid they'd light up for several seconds at a time, flying around. Now adays they are more like a strobe. Maybe it's an adaptation to evade the wiffle-ball bats used to swat them out of the air. --But then that'd just be my yard. >=)