How do fireflies achieve synchrony?

Every year in Just two weeks in June, an incredible phenomenon occurs in the forests of the southeastern United States. Swarms of male fireflies spread their wings and fly in the twilight, their bellies gleaming in amazing synchrony before completing mating.

It is both mysterious and beautiful. For at least centuries, humans around the world have wondered how these bugs coordinated their dance of light. There are various explanations, from the frequency of the wind blowing to expose the belly of the light, to pure coincidence. In 1917, a celebrity even suggested in a letter to Science that it was an illusion created by the eye's own blinks.

Subsequent studies have shown that, in fact, this synchronization is real. The mathematical model shows how the synchronicity of fireflies flashes develops over time. But the mechanism by which this synchronized occurrence occurs remains elusive.

"Is there something in the fireflies that makes them want to sync?" Rafael Safariti, a physicist at the University of Colorado-Boulder, said, "Or is it related to something more fundamental, perhaps based on their environment?" ”

Now, a new study led by Safariti has added an element that is missing: three-dimensional space.

The team recreated the flash in three-dimensional space after filming stereoscopic video of swarms of fireflies (photinuscarolinus) in Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They found that fireflies were not born with some kind of strange rhythm; instead, fireflies synchronized by mimicking the surrounding fireflies.

Data collection took place last June. Safari and his colleagues went to the national park and set up tents and two 360-degree cameras.

They documented the mating process as much as possible. For about 90 minutes a day, starting half an hour after sunset, they recorded the fireflies starting to glow and then flashing in a repetitive pattern: a few brief flashes in a blob, followed by a few seconds of pause, followed by more flashes. When the fireflies are synchronized, the light seems to ripple across the terrain in the form of waves.

The team also observed that the firefly colony stayed within about two meters above the ground, and that the shape of the colony was very close to the shape of the terrain — which was more favorable for female animals that were closer to the ground.

Things got interesting when the team separated individual bugs in the tent. They completely lose the sense of rhythm in the outside world. They flicker from time to time and are completely out of sync with the main community. Things get even more interesting when a small number of fireflies are added to the tent. There were about 15 fireflies, and the flash was still unstable. But at higher values, they start to beat together again.

"When you start putting 20 fireflies together, you start looking at what you see in the wild," Safati said. You'll notice regular flashes, and they're all in sync. ”

This suggests that synchronicity is social, the team said. The fireflies saw what other fireflies in the vicinity were doing and reacted accordingly—creating a ripple of light, a bit like a wave in a stadium.

As for why, that's still a mystery. There is a theory that synchronous development is due to the alternating appearance of light and darkness that allows male fireflies to attract the attention of females, finding that they emit faint flashes of light, a glowing call and response.

The mathematical models generated from this study will be a valuable tool for studying the flash patterns of other firefly species. Figuring out how it happens, and why it evolved, can also help us understand other synchronic phenomena in nature.

"This synchronicity is present in many natural systems," says Oliate Pellegrig, a physicist at Boulder University, "and the cells in our hearts are simultaneously expanding and contracting." Neurons in our brains are also synchronized. ”

There may also be practical applications. Synchronization is critical to many technologies, such as radio communications, GPS, and parallel computing. A growing field of swarm robots, where a group of small robots can work in sync and perform tasks together like insects.

Knowing a little more about these seemingly magical creatures can also help protect them.

"A lot of people have had interesting experiences with fireflies," Safati said. ”

"They're also vulnerable. Due to increasing light pollution, many species around the world are decreasing. ”

The study has been published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

Author/MICHELLE STARR

Translator/Lancelot

Original/www.sciencealert.com/fireflies-synchronise-their-flashing-butts-by-watching-other-fireflies

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