Magical fire files

The fireflies produce light using a chemical reaction in an organ at the end of their abdomens, said Orit Peleg, a professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who is currently part of a team at the park studying the fireflies. This type of firefly is one of just a handful in the US that synchronizes its light patterns, and was once thought not to exist in the western hemisphere at all.

Only about a dozen of the more than 2, firefly species in the world can synchronize their flashes. The event is conducted to avoid disturbing the fireflies. Guests must view the fireflies from a distance, keeping away from the flightless female bugs on the forest floor, and turn off anything that emits light. The presence of white lights is particularly disruptive to the bugs and can cause them to stop flashing for 10 minutes or more, Soehn said. Light pollution, including car headlights, flashlights, cellphones and camera flashes, can interfere with courtship and successful firefly reproduction, said Sara Lewis, a biology professor at Tufts University and firefly expert.

We want people to go out into the night and see fireflies but we also want to protect fireflies. The bugs flash for only a few hours each night, during which time the males try to attract females on the ground with their patterns of light, according to a study which also found that the creatures observe surrounding fireflies and try to match their behavior.

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