Fireflies, lightning bugs, glow flies. Whatever you call them, you might be surprised to know they are found in Colorado, but researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder also want to know what the insects are saying.
Computer Science doctoral student Owen Martin and his advisor, Associate Professor in the BioFrontiers Institute and Department of Computer Science Orit Peleg, are searching for firefly species across Colorado while trying to learn more about the insects in the process -- including the patterns behind how they flash with their light-up organs.
"Part of that goal hinges on understanding their secret language," Peleg said.
She explained male fireflies flash to attract females, which often remain hidden on the ground. Each firefly species, however, has its own, unique flash pattern.
"It's like Morse code," Peleg said. "It's this simple light on, light off signal, and that's probably as close as it gets to computer language, ones and zeros, in the animal kingdom."
To explore those patterns, Peleg's team is using 360-degree GoPro cameras to record fireflies in the wild, feeding the video recordings into computer programs to analyze the patterns, according to the study.
Recently the group dug into the flashing behavior of fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, where thousands of insects synchronize their displays so that they all flash in unison, bathing entire hillsides in light.
According to Peleg's team, they found that these animals seem to achieve that feat by observing how their neighbors are flashing, then adjusting their behavior to match.
Martin is gathering similar insight from Colorado's fireflies, with the ultimate goal to create a comprehensive library of these patterns -- a sort of Google Translate for insects.
The researchers said unlike fireflies in the eastern U.S., which can abound all summer long, Colorado fireflies tend to cluster in swampy areas and are active for just a few weeks per year -- appearing in the second half of June, then disappearing again by mid-July.
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However, the experience of fireflies is new for Martin, who grew up not far from the Sawhill Ponds natural area near Louisville, Colorado, one area where the team is studying the bugs.
He had never seen a firefly at home until three years ago, but said that observing these animals in the wild is a "wonderous feeling."
"It's all dark, and you feel like the rest of the world isn't there anymore," Martin said. "You feel like you are floating in space, and there are all these stars moving around you."
The researchers said firefly populations are also at risk as a result of humans encroaching into wetland habitats and saturating the night sky with artificial light.
The team noted studies of fireflies from the eastern United States show streetlights and other nighttime illumination can wash out the signals that fireflies are trying to communicate.
"It's a bit like trying to carry on a conversation in the middle of a crowded bar," the team said, "because the artificial light is a major threat."
But there are a number of actions people can take to protect vulnerable firefly habitats, and Martin and Peleg invite curious Coloradans to volunteer to help out with the research project.
A team at the Butterfly Pavillion in Broomfield, Colorado, is also raising adult fireflies from larvae, which could one day be released into the wild.
Meanwhile, Martin encourages everyone to get outside and look for the insects.
"Turn your lights off," he said. "Then, between the middle of June and the middle of July, try to take some walks at night in your local wetland areas and see if you can find some."
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