the Realist

UNCOMMON KNOWLEDGE FOR MODERN TIMES

THE SECRET LIVES OF FIREFLIES

Written by Yolanda Wikiel Photograph by Aaron Dyer

TALK ABOUT SPARKS FLYING! The summer-night light shows we enjoy in our backyards are, in fact, courtship communication among fireflies. According to Sara M. Lewis, Ph.D., a professor of biology at Tufts University, the most common firefly (Photinus pyralis) uses flashing “kind of like texting.” In the early evening, the males lift off and start twinkling to the females, who are lounging below on blades of grass, surveying their options. “There are far fewer females, so they can be picky,” explains Lewis, who has studied the lives of these insects for 30 years. If a male ignites a female’s interest—the ladies of this genus tend be into guys with longer (OMG) flashes—she’ll flash back; a sort of luminescent conversation ensues. And if all goes well? Let’s just say, there will be fireworks.