TRANSCRIPT:
Hello this is Dr. Tom Mullikin with SCDNR for Into the Wild.
On a humid evening, a field or forest edge can begin blinking with tiny points of light. Fireflies are not flies at all. They are beetles, and their flashes are a form of communication.
Different species use different rhythms, colors, and pauses to find a mate. Males often flash while flying, and females answer from vegetation or the forest floor. At Congaree National Park, one species can produce waves of rapid, synchronized light across the woods.
Bright flashlights and outdoor lighting can interfere with those signals, so darkness is part of the habitat. The next time lightning bugs appear, turn the porch light down and watch for a pattern. What looks like random sparkle may actually be an entire conversation.