The Mystery of Synchronous Fireflies - Smarter Every Day 274 

The email list is here: www.smartereveryday.com/email-list This is an incredible sight to witness in person. If lightning bugs are in your area, most come out from May - July depending on your area. A HUGE Thank you to those of you who support on Patreon! You helped rent these cameras!

No one ever talks about how many mosquitoes you have to put up with to get long-exposure firefly photos 😂 I lost like half a pint last time I went out to do this

You asked about the chemistry. There's a video I've been working on for like 6 months you're gonna love when it comes out eventually. What you'll find amazing is that we understand the chemistry so well and how easy it is to recreate in other organisms. So you can take the glow genes from say a firefly and express them in bacteria and make glowing bacteria soup. Or grow the two parts separately and combine them when you want, to make a sudden glow on demand. There's a few companies doing this for various reasons. One I'm particularly excited about is light-bio that took the glow genes from fungi and expressed them in plants and have made a suite of bioluminescent green plants. Amazing video as always. Also this reminded me of a computer game I played as a kid. One of the magic school bus games included a bit about how fireflies communicate and how different pulse patterns were used for different things. Hadn't thought about that game in probably 20 years.

Hey Destin. In fact, it is possible to capture the magical firefly show on camera and get a beautiful non-blurry result with a little trick: letting the light come in through one lens yet then split it in two for separate sensors. One for infrared and the other one blue & green light. We developed a system for this with an incredible result a couple of years back and even made a video about it, which we can't link here but can find it on our channel.

This is so magical

Bioluminescence is extremely difficult to photograph- whether it is the algae in the water or the fireflies. Either way I loved this and Robins photos were amazing.

As a long time digital photographer, I'm well aware of the difficulties of low light photography. I think you did a great job working around the limitations of your equipment. I really like the stills with all the fireflies in the woods. So very pretty. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm glad to see you and the family having fun together, as an amazing bonus.

You're a national treasure, Destin. You're content is beyond amazing.

There's something so wholesome and kind watching these personal videos of Destin, going out with his family to just admire beauty. I feel like I'm with you there, watching you struggle with the cameras, in audible awe of how beautiful the fireflies look. This structure of video is enthralling. Keep it up Destin!

I'm not proud that this was my first thought... How do these look when they hit a windshield? The fireflies around here leave a bright splash that slowly fade after 5-10 seconds. Seems like in order to ramp up and burn out so quickly these guys must use a higher concentration of the light producing chemicals. I know I've seen fireflies behave this way more than once but didn't realize there were more than the one species.

"I tried to never grow up!!" those were the magical words Destin. Kudos to Robin for finding that magical place.. Even though you weren't able to capture it in the video we could feel the magic in your excitement.

Hey Destin, when I lived in Missouri, I used to "talk" to the fireflies. I would take a very low lumen flashlight, cup it so only a sliver of light came through and would flash patterns to the fireflies out in the yard and they would respond. Their pattern was simple and slow enough I could easily duplicate it with a simple tailswitch flashlight (Streamlight Microstream). When I moved back to North Dakota, I attempted the same but their pattern was too fast to duplicate. I always joked about doing a LED driver via a lighting console and see if I could teach them a pattern. "Dot Dot Dot Dash Dash Dash Dot Dot Dot". I thought it would be hilarious to have the fireflies signaling SOS in Morse Code.

I am very fascinated by this video because I live in an area where there are no fireflies/lightning bugs. I have never seen one in real life but I really want to! It seems so cool.

Destin, I JUST noticed the other night what I called the morse code lightning bug, giving out the "O" signal. It seemed to fly faster than the other fireflies that were out that were flashing their normal pattern. I never thought that it was a different species of firefly. I am going to have to check out the book you mentioned. It seemed pretty fascinating.

The synchrony is like the mystery of music; how humans perceive notes and their arrangement, and extract a 'beat' and the musicians and listeners synch up. Growing up in the West, we had never seen fireflies, but we drove to Minnesota to visit a friend who said, "Oh yeah, come outside" and we were simply blown away. The kids caught some and gave them to us to observe up close; definitely ranks up with some of the coolest things I have done in life: fireflies. Comparing my real life experience to your attempt to capture the reality, which was not bad, but let me say, it just cannot compare to seeing it live.

I love how you just put in all this effort to make people stop and have them realise what a wonderful world they live in. Thank you Destin, for never losing your curiosity.

An amazing moment of nostalgia. I grew up in the Midwest and spent my childhood doing this and now that I live in the southwest, it makes me sad that my own kids won't get to experience things like this. Thank you

The fact that this man spend an entire year making a video to teach us about these fireflies is absolutely incredible and I cannot thank you enough for the amount of beauty and joy this brings to the internet. I absolutely love videos like this and the passion you have makes it so much more enjoyable on top of how much it already is

Crazy when I open up RU-vid and I see a smarter every day video posted 19 seconds ago I got a whole backyard of synchronized lightning bugs. I figured out how to trigger them with a few LEDs in the field. Lightning bugs are so cool. Edit: I wrote this comment before watching the part where you used LEDs too! GMTA!

Destin, I haven't watched this video... I'm just starting it off, but I realized why I appreciate your channel so much. You communicate to all levels of complexity in the least condescending and most inclusive way that I've seen on the platform. No matter how much of a novice or expert I am on a particular topic, your videos are always enlightening. I appreciate you for constantly sparking me to go deeper into the curiosities I have.

Noticed this a week ago while letting my dog out in the backyard! Ours were a bit slower in their cadence but was absolutely a treat to watch!

I can't link it here, but if you're interested, I have footage of this phenomenon filmed through nightvision that shows this in a very different light. There's one 'shorts' one that's the most recent vid on my channel, and then one a few days earlier that's longer.

Destin, look into “flocking” algorithms - these fireflies seem to be following one! There are mathematical models which describe collective interactions between animals, and I’m sure the gradually-synchronous nature of these fireflies can be described by one as well. It’s a really interesting topic (and an easy and fascinating simulation exercise, too). Great vid as always!

I had no idea there were so many different blinking patterns. As to the "how" they sync up, I can only think of the phenomenon where multiple people walking together will unintentionally synchronize their steps.

this is absolutely my favorite video. no question. hands down you somehow always find the magic in life. thankful for your videos because no one that i know thinks like you do the saying is, 'expect the unexpected' and you are the personification of that i love it so much

"childlike joy and wonder" - Destin, this is why we love to watch this channel. You have a good hand at educating, entertaining and inspiring your audience... 😎👍

For two years we had a single tree in our backyard that would light up in waves. There had to be about 200 in the one tree, they would light up on the left side, and the light would spread through the whole thing. Just like Destin we tried to take pictures and videos but it’s just not the same. You have to go look for these things it’s incredible.

Wow. You taught me something about my own backyard that I didn't know. I didn't know we have 2 different kinds of fireflies in our backyard! We've lived in the same house in Indiana for over 20 years and I've seen the fireflies in our backyard hundreds of evenings. I had noticed that some would blink differently than others, but just thought the same firefly would behave differently at times. This evening, I tracked ones that would flash for maybe a quarter second every 5-7 seconds. They were rising out of the grass and flowers at the edges of the yard. These were the ones I remember from my childhood. It looks like they are called the common eastern firefly or big dipper firefly. But there were others that came out about 15 minutes later. They were about half the size and would just give a quick blink every 3-4 seconds. They came out from a wooded area, and were much harder to see and catch. It's going to take a little more research to find out what they are called. And I'm going to study them a bit to see if they synchronize at all as it gets really dark. Thank you for teaching me something I didn't know about my own yard, and making me curious to know more.

0:34 "on or off?" Dustin, I don't think you can have one without the other.

One of my favorite moments was teaching a group of students from Hong Kong, who came to Ohio for about a week for some classes. The students stayed in cabins at a nearby state forest. Many of these students have never been off of pavement. One of my favorite things, after they got settled in their cabins was to take them for a quick night hike. The fireflies were absolutely magical to them, many never realizing that such magical creatures exist.

My advanced neurobiology professor worked on this exact thing! Dr. Jonathan Copeland is a behavioral neurophysiologist and he has tons of research on firefly synchronization That behavior is what we see up here in the Blue Ridge, GA area in the mountains of north GA. I tried to capture that a few weeks ago but the camera did it no justice. It was like my back acreage was a laser light show, thousands of fireflies, it was a cloud of light.

Destin - not only do I thank you for bringing us along on this adventure, but those still photos are awe inspiring. Just before you said it, I was thinking how mystical those photos looks and how they look like and enchanted forest with tiny little fairies or beings floating all around. Such incredibly beautiful photos. I want to make one of them a canvas or a background on my computer as they are just perfect. Thank you for sharing this with us!

I was lucky enough to see this in our front yard growing up. I thought everyone had the fireflies during the late spring. It's incredible if you ever get the chance to see them!

Dude, our gcse DT exam was on datum points, we didn’t do a single lesson on it but I still managed to fill out most of the exam just because I remembered one of your older videos with your dad and the JWST. From what I’ve seen on socials nobody had any idea what they where, I’m sure I’d I pass that exam it’ll be because of you and your dad.

I live in Alabama too. Last year i saw fireflies synchronize at my grandads house. They actually followed me and stayed at an even circle surrounding me while i walked down to our creek. I walked up and down the road like 4-5 times and they followed me around for like an hour. It felt almost magical. it was the craziest light show I’ve ever seen in real life. They were making amazing patterns. I didn’t want to leave them.

Great episodes. It took me back about 50 years chasing and playing with Fireflies. I thought the still photos were absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing your sense of wonder and discovery with us all.

+1 for "lightning bugs" Thanks Mr. Taylor, Destin & Trent for all of the effort to share this. 👍

Destin, I just want you to know that I've been watching your channel for years but I was able to put one of your videos to practical use yesterday. My grandmother (who grew up one of 8 kids on a tobacco farm in Rockingham, NC) had seen both water towers and grain bins all her 88 years but never known what they do/are for, since on her farm they used a well and drying sheds. Out of nowhere she asked me that while we were driving. I was able to mostly explain it to her because of your video on Grain Bins and Grady's video on "Practical Engineering" about water towers. When we got to the house I showed her both videos, and she got super excited about all the modern farm technology she saw on yours. I wouldn't have been able to answer her without you guys so I'm thanking you both.

Down here in the swamps of south Mississippi on our property we also have synchronized fireflies. It’s so mesmerizing just to stand their and watch them flash. But ours will divide themselves and have two separate flash patterns. It’s so cool to watch!!!

Loved your video! Catching and putting the "lightning bugs" as we called them growing up...in a mason jar was a never forgotten memory. We live in the great state of Alabama that has so much to offer. You might consider visiting Dismal Canyon this fall. When the temperature is cooler you can reserve a spot for a guided tour of the "glow worms" only found near this Cavern. Similar ones are found in New Zealand and Australia except our glow worms light up at both ends of their tiny bodies. Others light up at only one end. After a visit there last Saturday we were told National Geographic was there about a year ago. They are not sure when the episode will air. They had an episode about 5 years ago about the dismalites in New Zealand. You and your family would really enjoy it. Thanks for all you do!

Saw these last year here in Missouri. We were talking about how we never see lighting bugs anymore and it's like they were listening because my yard started lighting up with more and more lightning bugs and they were synced up. Blew our minds! I had never seen different flashes until then and thought it was a one time thing until this video.

I know someone who actually stumbled across these!!! If you ever come across such things, please turn off your flashlight and enjoy the mystique scenery. It's a once in a lifetime experience, trust me:) Did you know about bioluminescent fungi? I actually had an encounter with these things, it took place on a late foggy night while hiking. I felt just like in one of those spooky movie scenes, having them laying there on the ground surrounded by moss and thick fog while hearing raindrops echoing through that dense forest. Nature continues to amaze us day by day, even though we keep breaking it with 'civilization'! Thank you Destin for all the amazing content you produced over the years! You're awesome! :)

When they illuminate at the same time, that's a great example of order coming out of disorder. That's probably one of the biggest mystery in science (see the mathematician Steven Strogatz who did some research in that field I believe, about things in nature that tend to sync up). Same phenomenon happens with cardiac cells beating, or brain cells pulsing together, or even with an audience that always end up clapping at the same rythme given enough time. That's seems to be because each individual is "aware" of their direct neighbour and try ro adjust their behaviour accordingly. I believe you can also use this logic (using specific algorithms) in a network when you need computers to sync up.

ive never seen this many fireflies together like this so have never seen the phenomenon of them syncing up. great video as always Destin

One of the most beautiful videos in this channel so far. The nostalgia it got me and still gets to every year at the end spring season. I'm just sad that they appear less and less in my area due to agriculture activity.

Man you just blew this mid 60's ish guy's MIND! Grew up next to corn fields in Iowa & we had clouds of lightning bugs but they were all disjointed little dudes like you grew up with. The flash & fade kind. You might see a few in a group do the synchronized kinda flashing but it was probably luck! Thanks for bringing back happy childhood memories! I ❤ science.

I feel like bioluminescence doesn't pick up on camera like it does in person. The only way to really experience this amazing part of nature is experiencing it in person. Awesome video.

Thank you so much for posting this. It is amazing and your work to make this is appreciated from the heart.

I live in the city, and have tons of fireflies in the park. Every night me and my dog go for a magical walk through the lights. My phone camera won't do it justice, unfortunately. Very cool video!!! Thanks for sharing

I think I heard them screaming "Marco....Polo..." I'm in central Texas and I've only seen the slow, pulsing fireflies but this year, we're in such a drought, I haven't seen any. Thank you so much for sharing this with us and helping us get a little smarter!

This makes me very appreciative of how amazing our eyes are, compared to camera lenses. It's also pretty amazing that cameras can be designed to let us see wavelengths that our own eyes can't detect.

This happens in my back yard occasionally. It blew my mind the first time I saw it--as I was totally unaware of the phenomena. Nature is beautiful and full of wonder.

This was amazing and so sweet. Looks magical!

Hey Destin man, Having a tough time in life and I just want you to know your positivity in these videos is so comforting and familiar. Thanks man.

I've seen Fireflies all over the eastern US. Some are synced and some aren't, but they are all wonderous. Thank you for reminding us that the simple things are the best.

Hey Destin, i love your Channel so much! The way you chase after those things that interests you is very inspiring!

This is really cool. I love living somewhere that I can go out into my front or backyard and just watch fireflies blink all around me. My daughter has a blast trying to capture them when she’s with me.

Thank you Smarter Every Day for covering fireflies! I live in a village where there used to be millions of lightning bugs in the rice field about two decades ago. Unfortunately, pesticides, water pollution, and other contaminations drove them away. It used to be so beautiful going out at night. I don't see them anymore nowadays.

We experienced this at our cabin out in the middle of nowhere in northwest Missouri just two nights ago. Just this morning I got your email about fireflies, and I got to re-experience what we saw the other night. We've always had tons of them at our cabin, but this is the first year I've perceived that they're flashing, rather than glowing. Fascinating video, as always, and yes, your childlike wonder shone through. Every time I see one of your videos, I walk away feeling SO much better spiritually. Thank you for everything you do!

The video quality may not have been always on top, but the sound sure is!!! We tend to forget how much sound important is, and it really shows here! Your level of sound quality has always been on top!

We all grow up listening all of it in a from of unimpactful condolence given by someone or like a blinking light of hope shown by our elders in a tough time. But the reflection of the truth, depth and belief maybe coming from your integrity or from your skills or your devotion towards the perfect delivery of the video or maybe all breathed life into these words and me. Thankyou ❤❤

Yes! The blue ghost fireflies in western N.C. are incredible as well.

2:30 Destin "we're kinda in his (Robin's) house" Robin "we're in the Lord's house" Amen, God has provided us with an abundance of gifts, the wonders of nature just being one. Amazing fire flies, and well done for posting all the images and not just the later ones using the 'better' camera, makes your channel much more personal - appreciated!

Those final images/clips were stunning. I could see a photographer making a whole career off of capturing fireflies on film.

I did the same growing up in TN, and I do remember them flashing at times, but never that many! This was incredible!

David Attenborough covered similar phenomenon in his film Light on Earth. It's a phenomenal documentary on bioluminescence, from algae to mushrooms to fireflies etc. It's one of my favorite from David Attenborough, highly recommend.

Couldn't be better timing! I'm in West Virginia working on a theater festival and saw fireflies for the first time a few days ago! We don't have them on the west coast and they are truly magical

If only more people had the desire to learn like you do. I enjoy all of your videos. Thank you for encouraging everyone to learn everyday.

I can't explain it, but out of so many amazing videos you put out, this one felt like the best yet, even it it wasn't the most technical or extravagant. Something about just going out to observe fireflies, it's so simple, and the synchronicity is really interesting. Makes me want to experience it too 💛

This is so magical. Those photos were amazing! Watched this with my daughter and now we're making plans to go exploring!

My wife and I went to Key Largo in April. Our first night there just happened to be three nights after the full moon, which is the ideal night to capture the bioluminescent display of the Bermuda fireworm. At exactly 55 minutes after sunset, the ocean lights up for about 20 minutes as the worms swim to the surface and spin around with a glowing trail. We timed the worms over the next few nights, and they always showed up exactly 55 minutes after sunset, although in fewer numbers each night. Bioluminescence is amazing!

This is why I love your videos, Destin. You go from submarines to coast guard to carburetors to fireflies and make them ALL interesting.

So glad you covered this! This occurs in the Congaree Swamp near me, and I always see it every year. Super hard to video / photograph but your results were great.

Hey Destin. Love your content. Love the verse you leave at the end. I used to wait to check out what new verse you included. Thanks for doing what you do.

I loved this video. It brought back so many memories of watching and catching fireflies. My grandchildren do it with me now.

Man, this was absolutely magical. Thank you Destin for having the most magically entertaining and intelectually curious channel on this website.

Got goosebumps seeing those photos. So many things in life needs to be experienced in person.

here I am having dinner at 3AM watching this with an assignment due Wednesday

Back when my kids were about to start school (they are now in their 50's), I succumbed to the wiles of a World Book Encyclopedia salesman and bought a set. The company also sent out a yearbook and a science yearbook annually. In one issue was an article about fireflies. The article told about the different patterns of the different species of Photinus and Photurus. It also mentioned that the one species would mimic the pattern of the other species in order to predate upon it when it decided to hook up for what it expected to be a conjugal relationship.

I remember trying to learn Cicada's Waltz on the guitar a while back and recognised it instantly when it started playing about 2/3rd through the video. Cheers, Ashellinthepit.

One of the most magical memorable nights of my life happened with these fireflies. I was river fishing way way far off the grid and was finding my way back to camp in complete darkness. My friend and I stumbled upon a field in the middle of the woods and saw some fireflies so we turned our headlamps off. It was the densest concentration of fireflies I've ever seen. As we watched big sections of the field began to synchronize until all of the fireflies were pulsing at the same time. We watched for quite a while and it was just magical. When we turned our headlamp back on, and then off again they would go out of sync, but then would gradually return. So cool!

This is amazing, not only informative but also beautiful.

I was watching this video yesterday, and not five minutes later I left the house to go for walk. Around 8:30 pm on a rainy day in central NJ - for the first time in my life, I saw these fireflies you are talking about.

This is truly magical and reignites childlike wonder. Thank you so much! Your work is truly worth supporting on many levels. Thank you again.

Hey Destin this is such an amazing video, brings me back. Is there any chance we could get the full resolution images. (They would look amazing as wallpapers)

One humble request. Please make more videos similar to this, I really enjoyed your backwards bicycle which I enjoy watching every now and then.

Simply Magical. Great ambient music and long expo photos.

You’re one of my favorite science communicators and experimenters on YT and in general. Genuinely love you and your videos. Keep it up man! I, among many others I’m sure look forward to your next video. Thanks for a good one!

I’ve heard of this on radiolab about 10years ago. There are huge populations of these in china on the yellow river. I have not heard anything about them since. Thanks for the video!

My family used to vacation in the Great Smokey Mountains every year, so I've seen this myself. It's gorgeous. I'd love to see further video of LED experiments if anyone does those, that would be something lovely to witness.

Having seen and experienced fireflies, I know how much joy and wonder you must have had. They are amazing!

Such a beautiful video. This video and the Walking Water Mystery video are my favorites by far. I couldn’t hold back the tears. You’ve inspired to live such a beautiful life through curiosity:)

Watching Destin's channel is the only destiny I need!

I love your videos Destin. They make me feel better about the world and people in general.

i was sitting on Monte Sano watching the fireflies last night. this crossed my feed this morning. love the video!

I live in the south and catching lightening bugs every summer is so magical. Just sitting on the back porch and watching them every night is magic in itself.

I'm seeing more lightening bugs here in Southern KY this year than I have in my whole life growing up around Cincinnati. It really is something hard to film or take pictures of. Something you really just have to see with your own eyes.

Thank you so much Destin! The truth is that I'm so happy to see your awe inspiring video's

Oh my gosh, your family is so cute. My kids are almost grown and out of the house, and seeing your wonderful family brings a tear to my eye. Enjoy these days.

Like you, catching lightning bugs was part of my childhood. I learned that I had to pound holes into the top of the jar using a hammer and nail, or the bugs were dead by morning. The holes needed to be large enough to let the air in & out but not too large or I had them flying around my bedroom. I have been saddened that the environment has changed so that there are now places with no lightning bugs at all. I read about the rapid flash lightning bugs many years ago, but have never seen them. You have made it possible for me to finally see them. You also helped me remember the joy I experienced as a young child so many decades ago. Thank you.