Daughters, nocturnal by nature, rise

when the sun declines

to shower and powder for evening shifts.

Likewise, the Railroad Worm--

not a worm but a juvenile or adult female

Phrixthris (the

With-Bristling-Hairs beetle)—

switches on a fiery red to attack or mate. 

The female then lays a cluster of eggs underground,

curls around them for a year. The male,

while not luminous

does possess wings for convenient conveyance—

not something I'd want to spot

at the blues joint where my youngest bartends.