Glow of Love: The Secret Language Fireflies Use to Find Mates

On summer evenings in the U.S., the night comes alive with the blinking code of fireflies. Each species of firefly has its own light language to find a mate. Our host, entomologist Jessica Ware helps us decode firefly flirting and meets a high school researcher on a quest to understand how we can help the love life of fireflies and keep our summers twinkling.

In Insectarium, entomologist and museum curator Jessica Ware introduces us to insects that upend our expectations and a diverse group of scientists who are passionate about the six-legged critters all around us. Forget about pandas–we’re here to make you fall in love with mandibles! The series is produced for PBS by the American Museum of Natural History.

Firefly images: iNaturalist / gugliucciello, CC BY-NC 4.0 | Firefly Conservation & Research / Firefly.org

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Original Production Funding Provided by National Science Foundation - Grant No. 2120006

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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