About a third of insects attracted to artificial lights die by morning, often from exhaustion. But we can help them, and the vital ecosystems they serve, by reducing light pollution.
The bamboo coral Isidella displaying bioluminescence in the Caribbean in 2009.
Sönke Johnsen
Dozens of animals, some on land but many in the ocean, can produce light within their bodies through chemical reactions. Scientists are still trying to understand when and why this trait developed.
Fireflies’ synchronized light shows have fascinated observers for ages.
Raphael Sarfati
Synchrony is ubiquitous throughout the universe. But physicists’ equations predicted there could also be erratic exceptions marching to their own beat. Now they’ve been spotted in firefly swarms.
Two men watch Ebrahim Raisi, the conservative frontrunner in Iran’s elections, in a televised presidential debate.
Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA
Fireflies’ summer evening light shows are a delight for humans, but for the insects they are a crucial mating ritual – and human-caused light pollution is a buzz kill.
Visitors walk through Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s installation ‘Fireflies on the Water.’
maurizio mucciola/flickr
Kate Flint, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Images of wildfires are powerful, but can make climate catastrophe seem like something spectacular and distant. So some artists are focusing on the plants and bugs in our immediate surroundings.
A firefly’s light is part of its mating strategy.
Japan's Fireworks/Shutterstock.com