Fireflie, belong to the Lampyridae family. Their characteristic feature is the presence of special organs responsible for the glow.

Actually, this romantic glow, otherwise – bioluminescence is the main reason that firefiles are famous for. How do they manage to glow?

The pigment luciferin is responsible for the bioluminescence of fireflies. Under the action of a special enzyme, this pigment is oxidized.

The excess energy formed as a result of a chemical reaction, it releases in the form of light.

At the same time, the glow efficiency of fireflies is extremely high: from 87 to 98% of the energy goes into light.

For comparison: in an incandescent lamp, only 5% of the energy goes into light, the rest goes into heat.

At the moment, a little more than two thousand species of fireflies are known to science. However, according to a recent study, many of these species are endangered. The reason for this is the human factor.

Thus, fireflies of the species Pteroptyx tener spend their larval stage in mangroves. Which year after year are cut down, depriving the beetles of their refuge. Female fireflies Lampyris noctiluca cannot fly.

If a track or other obstacle is built in their migration path, the path breaks and the view slowly disappears.

Another problem is pesticides, with which farmers remove pests. Organophosphates and neonicotinoids are also hitting entire populations of beneficial insects.

But the biggest threat to fireflies is pollution from artificial lighting. The bioluminescence and flicker of these beetles is used for communication and mating games.

The abundance of artificial light disorients fireflies, and many of them simply do not find a partner for mating.