But recently I learned that you don’t have to be an entomologist to try to talk to fireflies. According to Dr. Vencl, male fireflies are generally more mobile and have somewhat fancier flash patterns. About 2,000 known species of fireflies inhabit temperate and tropical forests around the world. As Earth rotates in the summer, fireflies whisper sweet nothings to each other in the most beautiful language never heard. But only some continue to flash as grown-up beetles that we know as fireflies.

Source: New York Times June 29, 2016 18:22 UTC