Walk the woods near Fairfield, Iowa as the fireflies come out to sparkle and glow at twilight. Photographer Radim Schreiber sees the sparkling forest as reflection of the stars in the Milky Way and has been filming the summer lightning bugs for years. His video Firefly Experience captures the bioluminescent insect’s summer magic up close and from afar in real time and without any digital effects. Watch it full screen in a darkened room.
Plus, a conservation tip from Firefly.org:
If you keep lights on outside your house and in your garden or yard at night, you may be unknowingly contributing to the decline in firefly populations in your area. Luckily, it isn’t difficult to be part of the solution instead. All you need to do is turn off exterior lights in the evenings when fireflies are active. This may help firefly populations increase in your area.
Want to watch fireflies for science? Mass Audobon’s Firefly Watch Citizen Science Project needs volunteers to observe these beetles for 10 minutes once a week in your backyard or in a nearby field during firefly season. Record the evening data, learn the insect’s flash patterns, and submit your observations to help track firefly populations.
Learn more about firefly communication in this Science Friday video: In A Flash. Plus: Fireflies sparkle in a Pennsylvania field at dusk.Curated, kid-friendly, independently-published. Support this mission by becoming a sustaining member today.