Why do fireflies glow?
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If you could make a light pattern, what kind of flashes would you make?
What about...?
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Transcript
Have you seen a tiny firefly light up at night? Why does it glow?
A firefly has a little light part near its tail. Inside, it mixes air with special stuff from its body.
When they mix, they make light with almost no heat. That is why a firefly can glow without getting hot.
Fireflies flash their lights to find other fireflies. Each kind has its own flash pattern, like a tiny light hello.
So that's why fireflies glow: their bodies make cool light. Their flashes help them find one another.
For grown-ups: the science
Fireflies glow because their bodies mix air with special stuff to make cool light, and they flash to find other fireflies.
Firefly light is made by bioluminescence. In light-producing cells, luciferin reacts with oxygen with help from the enzyme luciferase, producing very efficient light with little heat. Adult fireflies use species-specific flash patterns mainly for communication, especially finding mates.