Amazing light show from fireflies

Fireflies always mesmerize. Their natural light says to the females: "Hey, I'm a cool guy." They often cling to lanterns and lamps, dying from electricity or fire. But some fireflies find light, in the literal sense of the word, in the near and arrange whole light shows, coloring the night with different signals and synchronous flashes. It looks fabulous and constantly attracts a bunch of viewers.

They bring light to people

One such place is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, home to Photinus carolinus, the only species of fireflies in North America that can sync with their brethren. Thousands of people come here every summer to see how hundreds and thousands of fireflies come together in a bewitching light dance. The park has a total of 1800 parking spaces, and each one receives 10 applications for the period from late May to early June.

The park is inhabited by 19 species of fireflies, but only one is satisfied with such a performance. The lucky ones, located deep in the forest, are asked to cover their lights with red or blue cellophane and direct them to the ground. Excess light can confuse fireflies, who are already preparing to start their light show.

The show itself depends on many factors: on the phase of the moon (i.e. the intensity of moonlight), on the weather. Since firefly larvae live in the ground for one to two years, humidity is also of great importance. There has been a drought in the past few years, so the show is not as bright as before.

More fire

When the fireflies start flashing, at first it seems that they light up in random order: synchronism is not very obvious. However, sooner or later, these outbreaks begin to assemble into a puzzle and repeat. Hundreds at a time, sometimes more. How this happens, how hundreds of males achieve such synchronism in their dances, is still unknown. This can be compared to people walking along the street. At first they step apart, but gradually begin to keep up.

It is interesting that fireflies, with all their "bright image", are rather insidious predators, capable of even eating a bite to their own kind. On the other hand, some fireflies are able to live their short life of several weeks without eating at all.

In general, tiny insects are for humans a great mystery of nature. But I don’t even really want to solve it - it’s better to just watch and admire it.

Based on materials from HowStuffWorks.com