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tu r es 71

N A TURE
GLOW
Cre
That
Some insects, fish, mollusks, fungi, and worms produce a Big Bend
glow called bioluminescence, or “living light.” The glow comes coast to the
from internal chemical reactions. Okefenokee
You can find these organisms, swamp.
if you look carefully . . . Fireflies light up to
send a mating call. The males flash
Above, a close-up view of a firefly
In the AIR as they fly, while the females stay on the
ground or on low bushes, flashing back.
Below, blue glowworms light up
the Waitomo Glowworm Caves in
FIREFLIES, also (Females seldom fly.) Their adulthood lasts New Zealand.
called lightning for only a few weeks, and they spend
bugs, are actually every night courting. Most don’t
nocturnal beetles. even eat! The larvae, or babies, of
They exist on every most firefly species also glow.
continent except They’re called GLOWWORMS.
Antarctica. More
than 170 species call
l A fireflyer is someone with
a passion for fireflies.
North America
home, but, for some l One of the most popular folk
unknown reason, songs in Japan is “The Light
of the Firefly,” set to the
they are seldom
music of “Auld Lang Syne.”
found west of
Kansas. The best
area in North
America for viewing FLASH
fireflies is along the
Florida–Georgia
for Fireflies
To attract fireflies, find one, count the
border, from the

CONTINUED
number of its flashes, their duration, and
the time between flashes. Then mimic the
flash pattern with a small flashlight.
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As long as bioluminescent creatures inhabit Earth, it will never be totally dark.

N A TURE
At SEA Transparent,
hula-skirt
On the GROUND
More than 90 percent of deep-sea animals siphonophores Explore the woods at night and
are thought to be BIOLUMINESCENT. like this one look for an eerie, blue-green
Organisms such as comb jellies, lantern or can be found glow. Here, we call it FOXFIRE and
flashlight fish, certain squid and ocean in both the
TOUCHWOOD, while Irish and
Arctic and
worms, and a swimming sea cucumber use Scottish folktales refer to it as
Pacific
bioluminescence to see, lure, or scare away oceans. fairy fire and will-o’-the-wisp. The
other creatures.
light comes from several species
The glowing sea creatures that are easiest
of fungi found on the ground;
to spot are microscopic organisms called
in moist, decaying logs; and on
DINOFLAGELLATES. They light up if they are
moved, such as by waves, wind, fish, and tree stumps. There are more than
boats. When these organisms wash 40 species of luminescent fungi.
Above, fluorescent fungus glows at night
up on the beach and you step on Most glow green, white, yellow, or in Borneo, Malaysia.
them, you leave “glowing” blue. Scientists aren’t sure why. Below, a honey mushroom fungus grows in
footprints in the sand. A common fungus found in North America.

l Strangely, a mysterious, North America, Europe, and Asia

glowing, milky-color part is the HONEY MUSHROOM. The
of the Indian Ocean has been glow of its rootlike parts looks
noted only twice, like a stain on wood and lasts for
both times on up to 8 weeks.
January 27 . . .
l Ben Franklin suggested
 by a satellite,
that foxfire be used to light
which captured
the instrument panel of
images of the
the world’s first submarine,
phenomenon in
built in 1775 and used
1995.
during a secret mission
 by the submarine against the British in the
Nautilus in Jules Revolutionary War. Ben’s
Verne’s novel 20,000 idea was declined.
Leagues Under the Sea—
published in 1870.
l In Mark Twain’s novel The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer,
Tom and Huck Finn use
Above, a column of glowing kelp foxfire for light when digging
Right, photophores light up a a tunnel to free Jim.
squid’s eyes.