The blinking lights of fireflies or lightning bugs are summer's gift to people everywhere. But their gleaming display is actually a complex ‘language of light’ that still puzzles scientists.

What we do know is that fireflies are beetles and they produce their own light to communicate with each other and predators.

The firefly glow is a reaction, triggered when oxygen combines with an enzyme and the chemical Luciferin in the firefly’s light organ. The fire is a cold light that’s nearly 100 percent efficient because, unlike our lightbulbs, none of the energy is wasted on heat. The gleaming chemical taste awful and signals predators to stay away.

At the University of Gainesville, Florida, Marc Branham and James Lloyd study the flash communication patterns and evolution of fireflies.

Join the Firefly Watch: https://www.massaudubon.org/programs...

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:42 The firefly glow is a chemical reaction
01:04 Marc Branham and James Lloyd study fireflies
01:24 Different firefly flash patterns
01:48 Flash patterns depend how dark it is
02:15 Big Dipper Firefly
02:30 Variations of fireflies
02:45 Female Photuris' sinister flash
03:09 Firefly lights are going out
03:22 The Firefly Watch
03:36 Marc Branham's favorite thing about fireflies
03:52 credits

DIRECTOR/EDITOR
Emily Driscoll

FILMED BY
Sakuma Fumio
Rei Ohara
Stavros Basis

STILLS
Joyce Gross
Bruce Marlin
Shutterstock
Yikrazuul

MUSIC
Audio Network

SPECIAL THANKS
Marc Branham
"Brilliant Darkness" movie
James Karl Fischer
Luke Groskin
Misa Kimura
James Lloyd
The Zoological Lighting Institute