The Mystery of Synchronous Fireflies - Smarter Every Day 274

[@smartereveryday]

The email list is here: www.smartereveryday.com/email-list This is an incredible sight to witness in person. If lightning bugs are in your area, most come out from May - July depending on your area. A HUGE Thank you to those of you who support on Patreon! You helped rent these cameras!

[@HunterOgden]

First!

[@sandwiched]

I love how you've got over 10 MILLION subscribers on KZbin, but are still excited about a (relatively) measly 70k email subs. ;)

[@It-b-Blair]

Awesome! For some reason I thought the synchronous ones were endemic to a section of Thailand’s jungle… fireflies/lightning bugs are magnificent in New England, missed them in the northwestern us, glad to be back, would love to visit Alabama sometime 😸

[@alexandresean8443]

I'm on the list, and I totally recommend it. No spam, you know when a video is uploaded so you can go and watch it when you have time. Oh and by the way Destin, bonjour de France

[@gingery3k]

Argentinos???

[@besmart]

No one ever talks about how many mosquitoes you have to put up with to get long-exposure firefly photos 😂 I lost like half a pint last time I went out to do this

[@thany3]

Eat lots of garlic. You'll smell of it, and I've heard they don't like that.

[@celticstephenhill]

Watkins... If it's still legal. It's like magic.

[@cmel7841]

hey Joe love your channel as well, and yes here in Northern MN you have to hydrate before you go out

[@4n2earth22]

I was wondering about the chiggers...

[@cutlassceria]

Baby oil cream works wonders repelling mosquitoes

[@thethoughtemporium]

You asked about the chemistry. There's a video I've been working on for like 6 months you're gonna love when it comes out eventually. What you'll find amazing is that we understand the chemistry so well and how easy it is to recreate in other organisms. So you can take the glow genes from say a firefly and express them in bacteria and make glowing bacteria soup. Or grow the two parts separately and combine them when you want, to make a sudden glow on demand. There's a few companies doing this for various reasons. One I'm particularly excited about is light-bio that took the glow genes from fungi and expressed them in plants and have made a suite of bioluminescent green plants. Amazing video as always. Also this reminded me of a computer game I played as a kid. One of the magic school bus games included a bit about how fireflies communicate and how different pulse patterns were used for different things. Hadn't thought about that game in probably 20 years.

[@smartereveryday]

I’ve seen them use bioluminescence in the lab as a marker before. Very cool stuff!

[@mysteriousdeath14400]

So, when can you give me glowing hands???

[@peppermintnightmare4741]

@@mysteriousdeath14400 try painting them with radium every day.

[@mysteriousdeath14400]

@@peppermintnightmare4741 🤣

[@W0Ndr3y]

Colab? Please.

[@ka9dgx]

As a long time digital photographer, I'm well aware of the difficulties of low light photography. I think you did a great job working around the limitations of your equipment. I really like the stills with all the fireflies in the woods. So very pretty. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm glad to see you and the family having fun together, as an amazing bonus.

[@smartereveryday]

It feels good that you recognize the difficulty of getting these shots!

[@nankinink]

@@smartereveryday Low light conditions might be one of the harshest thing in photography! That was a superb job! That infrared is really crazy. Sony Alpha 7 line-up also does a incredible job in low light! It might be helpful!

[@RFC-3514]

> *long time* _digital_ photographer You've just made a lot of photographers feel really old.

[@ka9dgx]

@@RFC-3514 I've been using some form of digital camera since my barely usable Casio QV-10 in 1997. Along the way I've actually worn out a shutter, (on my Nikon D40) and upgraded quite a bit.

[@0LoneTech]

@@ka9dgx They have been around a while. My first real digital camera was a little later, the Epson PhotoPC 700 (1998 per digital camera museum). You sure could light paint with its super long exposures.

[@terramater]

Hey Destin. In fact, it is possible to capture the magical firefly show on camera and get a beautiful non-blurry result with a little trick: letting the light come in through one lens yet then split it in two for separate sensors. One for infrared and the other one blue & green light. We developed a system for this with an incredible result a couple of years back and even made a video about it, which we can't link here but can find it on our channel.

[@lukearts2954]

what kind of nonsense. Sure you can put links here! (edit: not complete nonsense apparently, because some links appear to be removed, albeit not all)

[@mz00956]

@@lukearts2954 KZbin likes to delete comments with links in them

[@lukearts2954]

@@mz00956 @ABDC OP is talking about a video on KZbin, there is no reason why it would violate any advertisement rules. It's just an internal link within the site. And even then, I've referenced plenty to outside sources and I've never seen my comments deleted. If you don't use known spam domains, or extravagantly long links, then they'll stay on for sure. Especially links within KZbin. edit: and I just went to look and found what I said confirmed: the other day I linked to a picture of an object that was discussed in the comments, which was on the server of Gardena's web shop, and that comment got deleted indeed. If all links would automatically get deleted, then the @ system would not work. I can imagine they do it to prevent spam. I still don't see a reason why KZbin would delete links that generate more income for themselves, and I have found an older comment of mine that has a link to another video. Also, how many times haven't I seen creators link to their sponsor in the comments. Or to other channels and videos... Those don't get removed, so my point remains valid.

[@Pidrittel]

It is youtube dot com slash watch?v=0qePxIl-cyE, maybe this works and helps someone to find it. ;) Very nice. is there a video about the techncal details of the camera system?

[@lazsynth]

@@lukearts2954 No, KZbin definitely does remove links to other KZbin videos at times, it's happened to me a lot and is highly annoying.

[@TimeBucks]

This is so magical

[@InfoJoy-m7t]

👍

[@parwatifekar3056]

Nice

[@grapesforallofus]

😲😲

[@soilammirza9198]

Good 👌

[@abraanlincol4498]

amazing

[@heatherleigh6087]

Bioluminescence is extremely difficult to photograph- whether it is the algae in the water or the fireflies. Either way I loved this and Robins photos were amazing.

[@Half_Finis]

My dad took me to and my sister to Corfu 10 years ago, a Greek island, we had never seen fireflies and didn't expect to either, driving late one night we passed this area that simply blew our minds. A little den in the forest with these synchronized fireflies, I was so sad my camera couldn't pick up the light but I still remember it vividly and it's a really great memory of wonder

[@Mr.Anders0n_]

@@Half_Finis a live performance with built-in DRM :)

[@a-aron2276]

D.c is stunning, all over the parks there.

[@Half_Finis]

@@Mr.Anders0n_ should be alot more of those :) also allows the memory to grow, similar to the fish your uncle caught 3 summers ago

[@rowannadon7668]

Homie needs an a7riii or something

[@SG_0054]

The fact that this man spend an entire year making a video to teach us about these fireflies is absolutely incredible and I cannot thank you enough for the amount of beauty and joy this brings to the internet. I absolutely love videos like this and the passion you have makes it so much more enjoyable on top of how much it already is

[@syzygycoffee]

It is why this is the best channel

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

The synchrony is like the mystery of music; how humans perceive notes and their arrangement, and extract a 'beat' and the musicians and listeners synch up. Growing up in the West, we had never seen fireflies, but we drove to Minnesota to visit a friend who said, "Oh yeah, come outside" and we were simply blown away. The kids caught some and gave them to us to observe up close; definitely ranks up with some of the coolest things I have done in life: fireflies. Comparing my real life experience to your attempt to capture the reality, which was not bad, but let me say, it just cannot compare to seeing it live.

[@muhammadbasir83]

Until about 20 years ago, I just got out of my front door and there were a lot of fireflies. But today, they were extinct.

[@steveschu]

They are all over Kansas this time of year.

[@foompthedroid]

Hey Destin, when I lived in Missouri, I used to "talk" to the fireflies. I would take a very low lumen flashlight, cup it so only a sliver of light came through and would flash patterns to the fireflies out in the yard and they would respond. Their pattern was simple and slow enough I could easily duplicate it with a simple tailswitch flashlight (Streamlight Microstream). When I moved back to North Dakota, I attempted the same but their pattern was too fast to duplicate. I always joked about doing a LED driver via a lighting console and see if I could teach them a pattern. "Dot Dot Dot Dash Dash Dash Dot Dot Dot". I thought it would be hilarious to have the fireflies signaling SOS in Morse Code.

[@miriamrosemary9110]

My goodness I love this. Wish I had fireflies to 'talk' to in my backyard. And teaching the fireflies to signal SOS would be so funny and really fire up some conspiracy theorists 😂

[@bastionwolf]

This would be really cool if it actually worked.

[@lolvivo8783]

Cool if the whole forest blazes up SOS.

[@pillford4226]

- .... .- - ... -.-. --- --- .-..

[@grn1]

I could see that being a plot point in a movie, like someone gets stranded on an island and figures out a way to make the fireflies blink SOS to get a planes attention.

[@zerbie8272]

You're a national treasure, Destin. You're content is beyond amazing.

[@ChunkyJo]

I love how he said "oh sumthin landed on my head. oh it's my firefly!" and still took the time to explain that was, in fact, "just joking". I'm super jaded about most everything. I watch Destin's videos because I've noticed I try to aspire to be curious the way he is. His thirst for knowledge is so infectious that the word doesn't properly describe it. When he said "so have the knowledge of how this works, now we're going to understand how it works" it blew my mind. Completely changed my outlook on how I approach learning new things.

[@mvadu]

"I tried to never grow up!!" those were the magical words Destin. Kudos to Robin for finding that magical place.. Even though you weren't able to capture it in the video we could feel the magic in your excitement.

[@WilliamDye-willdye]

I want to be Destin Sandlin when I don't grow up.

[@Sembazuru]

I heard a saying when I was younger that I try to keep in my mind. "Growing older is mandatory, growing up is optional." I honestly don't know where that phrase came from, but I really like it.

[@juniper2346]

@@Sembazuru accept responsibility but don't let it push everything else out

[@collinregner5247]

For two years we had a single tree in our backyard that would light up in waves. There had to be about 200 in the one tree, they would light up on the left side, and the light would spread through the whole thing. Just like Destin we tried to take pictures and videos but it’s just not the same. You have to go look for these things it’s incredible.

[@lukearts2954]

That must be a magical spectacle to watch!!

[@captainamerica3814]

We lived on an island on the East coast of the Philippines and one night riding back home on our motorcycle we stopped to see a small tree that was illuminated by hundreds of fireflies. It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. Cameras don’t do the sight justice. You need to see them with your own eyes 👀

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

they were doing the wave

[@kapeanotara1078]

@@captainamerica3814 where in the Philippines? I would love to see it too

[@captainamerica3814]

@@kapeanotara1078 Catanduanes, near San Antonio

[@Nighthawkinlight]

I'm not proud that this was my first thought... How do these look when they hit a windshield? The fireflies around here leave a bright splash that slowly fade after 5-10 seconds. Seems like in order to ramp up and burn out so quickly these guys must use a higher concentration of the light producing chemicals. I know I've seen fireflies behave this way more than once but didn't realize there were more than the one species.

[@Digitalhunny]

Bug minding its own business, "AHHHHRGH!" SPLAT! THAT was funny! Though I really don't think fireflies leave their little wooded areas all that often TO encounter our steel killin' machines. Good thing, eh?!

[@Roonasaur]

T'was my first thought as well. Very bright splash . . . much brighter than usual, very cool. I kindof want to hit another one . . . but that's a horrible thing to want.

[@CryptusLegionBW]

they leave glowing streaks ...

[@ms-fk6eb]

I feel like cars have killed so many bugs that it has significantly decreased their population, cars are bad for many other reasons but this is one

[@csours]

I had to mow my yard at night during firefly season one time. I hit a few and they did leave a luminous splash on the yard for a little bit. I was pretty sad about it because they are not common around here.

[@cybersteel8]

There's something so wholesome and kind watching these personal videos of Destin, going out with his family to just admire beauty. I feel like I'm with you there, watching you struggle with the cameras, in audible awe of how beautiful the fireflies look. This structure of video is enthralling. Keep it up Destin!

[@onefastneonrt]

One can get totally lost in his videos. It doesn't matter what the outside world is doing around you, Destin has the ability to grab your attention. Keep up the great work Destin.

[@amrastheluckywoof5524]

I love how you just put in all this effort to make people stop and have them realise what a wonderful world they live in. Thank you Destin, for never losing your curiosity.

[@JasonVanderReyden]

Destin, I JUST noticed the other night what I called the morse code lightning bug, giving out the "O" signal. It seemed to fly faster than the other fireflies that were out that were flashing their normal pattern. I never thought that it was a different species of firefly. I am going to have to check out the book you mentioned. It seemed pretty fascinating.

[@smartereveryday]

I caught one at my house! It was much bigger!

[@custos3249]

Nah, that one was merely bragging to the others that he'd just had a good time.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

"OOOOOOO..." - that firefly

[@feha92]

@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 Ooooh, that thing has numbers on it! / Oooooh, whats in he~re?- curiosity core

[@juniper2346]

keep translating, they're trying to tell you something

[@UncleManuel]

"childlike joy and wonder" - Destin, this is why we love to watch this channel. You have a good hand at educating, entertaining and inspiring your audience... 😎👍

[@oantran8060]

ok

[@thithi8793]

ok

[@minhvan1216]

ok

[@rcnhsuailsnyfiue2]

Destin, look into “flocking” algorithms - these fireflies seem to be following one! There are mathematical models which describe collective interactions between animals, and I’m sure the gradually-synchronous nature of these fireflies can be described by one as well. It’s a really interesting topic (and an easy and fascinating simulation exercise, too). Great vid as always!

[@jlt131]

is this the same reason that women living together will end up with synchronous periods?

[@smartereveryday]

Episode 234: kzbin.info/www/bejne/an26noWrd5KohLc

[@Fuar11]

@@jlt131 probably, yes! things in nature tend to synchronize. like some kind of universal mathematical rule

[@cubertmiso]

maybe synchronous behavior increases information in the system and therefore "works better" than non-synchronous.

[@pattheplanter]

@@jlt131 That was debunked, I am afraid. Though it continues being told because it makes a good story.

[@hannahwatermelon]

I am very fascinated by this video because I live in an area where there are no fireflies/lightning bugs. I have never seen one in real life but I really want to! It seems so cool.

[@sabbic]

An amazing moment of nostalgia. I grew up in the Midwest and spent my childhood doing this and now that I live in the southwest, it makes me sad that my own kids won't get to experience things like this. Thank you

[@joeydr1497]

Dude, our gcse DT exam was on datum points, we didn’t do a single lesson on it but I still managed to fill out most of the exam just because I remembered one of your older videos with your dad and the JWST. From what I’ve seen on socials nobody had any idea what they where, I’m sure I’d I pass that exam it’ll be because of you and your dad.

[@oscar8005]

our A level physics was on the louis weisz chicken slapping experiment lmao

[@horlixuk]

Joey, as a 30 something year old Brit who did his GCSE's before KZbin was even created, you have no idea how jealous I am of the the information you have at your fingertips. Good to see you youngsters appreciating it and i hope you get the exam results you dream of 🤞

[@rigg4212]

i was trying to remember where i heard of datum points, you’ve just reminded me that this is where i knew that information from. im pretty sure i still got the question wrong lol

[@MichaelJohnson-fz2ry]

I wish we had fireflies in washington.

[@rigg4212]

@@MichaelJohnson-fz2ry pov: i live in the uk and don’t have them either

[@N0SSC]

Crazy when I open up KZbin and I see a smarter every day video posted 19 seconds ago I got a whole backyard of synchronized lightning bugs. I figured out how to trigger them with a few LEDs in the field. Lightning bugs are so cool. Edit: I wrote this comment before watching the part where you used LEDs too! GMTA!

[@flaturiah]

@Don't Read My Profile Photo no

[@dslyecxi]

I can't link it here, but if you're interested, I have footage of this phenomenon filmed through nightvision that shows this in a very different light. There's one 'shorts' one that's the most recent vid on my channel, and then one a few days earlier that's longer.

[@RubixB0y]

Very cool!

[@sirtaugs]

That's a great video with the NV. I'm surprised he didn't try NV and only did IR. I wonder if thermal could work as well. If the light is giving off heat.

[@dslyecxi]

@@sirtaugs I have thermal as well, haven't ever seen them show up via it though.

[@CHPMP5]

Huh I literally watched your shorts and saw this come up and immediately thought of the connection. Glad to see I wasn't the only one!

[@babybirdhome]

Being bioluminescent, they aren’t going to create very much heat. You’d probably need a thermal camera costing into the hundreds of thousands of dollars to be sensitive enough to pick that up (and with that sensitivity, probably also cryogenic cooling for the imaging sensor), and then you’d have to be fairly close because the pixels on a camera like that won’t provide much resolution at a distance.

[@mmessi72]

Destin, I haven't watched this video... I'm just starting it off, but I realized why I appreciate your channel so much. You communicate to all levels of complexity in the least condescending and most inclusive way that I've seen on the platform. No matter how much of a novice or expert I am on a particular topic, your videos are always enlightening. I appreciate you for constantly sparking me to go deeper into the curiosities I have.

[@UziNineMillimeter]

Noticed this a week ago while letting my dog out in the backyard! Ours were a bit slower in their cadence but was absolutely a treat to watch!

[@ethanmorris7595]

Down here in the swamps of south Mississippi on our property we also have synchronized fireflies. It’s so mesmerizing just to stand their and watch them flash. But ours will divide themselves and have two separate flash patterns. It’s so cool to watch!!!

[@aaronthomas8834]

My advanced neurobiology professor worked on this exact thing! Dr. Jonathan Copeland is a behavioral neurophysiologist and he has tons of research on firefly synchronization That behavior is what we see up here in the Blue Ridge, GA area in the mountains of north GA. I tried to capture that a few weeks ago but the camera did it no justice. It was like my back acreage was a laser light show, thousands of fireflies, it was a cloud of light.

[@donkzilla2293]

Can confirm. From Ellijay, GA. These little guys are going crazy down here lately.

[@deucedeuce1572]

Even if you can't see them on the video that don't mean that the camera didn't pick it up. They oftentimes (usually) pick up things beyond the human eye... so you can use editing software to make them much more visible and much brighter.

[@deucedeuce1572]

I'm glad to finally see them in NY after 20+ years on them being gone. They pretty much were extinct in my area. Used to see them a lot in the 80's, but they seemed to die down in the early 90's. Then they just disappeared altogether for about 25 years, only to come back last year. Haven't seen any this year though. Will def keep an eye our for them though. I hope they're back to stay.

[@unvergebeneid]

How many different synchronization algorithms are there that match the data though?

[@donnafrano2779]

Any papers or published research from your prof on the topic?

[@trippivey]

I live in Alabama too. Last year i saw fireflies synchronize at my grandads house. They actually followed me and stayed at an even circle surrounding me while i walked down to our creek. I walked up and down the road like 4-5 times and they followed me around for like an hour. It felt almost magical. it was the craziest light show I’ve ever seen in real life. They were making amazing patterns. I didn’t want to leave them.

[@HsvPeavey]

I lived deep in the smoky mountains for over a year and I recognized this amazing wonder. Baffled my mind.

[@HsvPeavey]

The light is their breathing and the Synchronization is based on moon just like the tide

[@hipo4993]

If you are interested in how the synchronization of fireflies occurs, veritasium talks about it in a video called "The Surprising Secret of Synchronization"

[@boomfiziks]

One of my favorite moments was teaching a group of students from Hong Kong, who came to Ohio for about a week for some classes. The students stayed in cabins at a nearby state forest. Many of these students have never been off of pavement. One of my favorite things, after they got settled in their cabins was to take them for a quick night hike. The fireflies were absolutely magical to them, many never realizing that such magical creatures exist.

[@1gallimaufry]

It is wonderful to view the reactions of people that have never witnessed the magic that is the lightning bug. It is a shame that so many of us take such amazing things for granted. I have often thought of the wonder an alien would have looking at fireflies, or the colors changing in the fall. So many simple things that are truly a wonder.

[@emilyelizabethbuchanan998]

Destin, I just want you to know that I've been watching your channel for years but I was able to put one of your videos to practical use yesterday. My grandmother (who grew up one of 8 kids on a tobacco farm in Rockingham, NC) had seen both water towers and grain bins all her 88 years but never known what they do/are for, since on her farm they used a well and drying sheds. Out of nowhere she asked me that while we were driving. I was able to mostly explain it to her because of your video on Grain Bins and Grady's video on "Practical Engineering" about water towers. When we got to the house I showed her both videos, and she got super excited about all the modern farm technology she saw on yours. I wouldn't have been able to answer her without you guys so I'm thanking you both.

[@LarryFish3rman]

Hey Destin man, Having a tough time in life and I just want you to know your positivity in these videos is so comforting and familiar. Thanks man.

[@sonvan6714]

ok

[@sethmccracken1936]

Hey I’ll be praying for you. I just listened to some of the music that is made for his videos, and it is so helpful somehow. The link is in the description for A Shell in the Pit.

[@TheTechAdmin]

0:34 "on or off?" Dustin, I don't think you can have one without the other.

[@curtislindsey1736]

I was lucky enough to see this in our front yard growing up. I thought everyone had the fireflies during the late spring. It's incredible if you ever get the chance to see them!

[@soundvoyager457]

I know someone who actually stumbled across these!!! If you ever come across such things, please turn off your flashlight and enjoy the mystique scenery. It's a once in a lifetime experience, trust me:) Did you know about bioluminescent fungi? I actually had an encounter with these things, it took place on a late foggy night while hiking. I felt just like in one of those spooky movie scenes, having them laying there on the ground surrounded by moss and thick fog while hearing raindrops echoing through that dense forest. Nature continues to amaze us day by day, even though we keep breaking it with 'civilization'! Thank you Destin for all the amazing content you produced over the years! You're awesome! :)

[@goldenfish31]

When they illuminate at the same time, that's a great example of order coming out of disorder. That's probably one of the biggest mystery in science (see the mathematician Steven Strogatz who did some research in that field I believe, about things in nature that tend to sync up). Same phenomenon happens with cardiac cells beating, or brain cells pulsing together, or even with an audience that always end up clapping at the same rythme given enough time. That's seems to be because each individual is "aware" of their direct neighbour and try ro adjust their behaviour accordingly. I believe you can also use this logic (using specific algorithms) in a network when you need computers to sync up.

[@Someguy1357]

It isn't as mysterious as one might think; nor is it "random" order out of disorder. "The seven heavens and the earth and everyone in them glorify Him. There is not a single thing that does not celebrate His praise, though you do not understand their praise: He is most forbearing, most forgiving." (Qur'an 17:44) Everything in creation remembers our lord in its own unique form of remembrance.

[@EarMaster55]

This seems not unlike to metronomes syncing with neighboring metronomes. It is a gradual process that culminates in synchronicity.

[@Kiloku2]

I used to sing in a choir, and our voice coach would tell us that after a minute of song, the entire choir's heartbeats would be synchronized. I never saw any studies or something confirming that, and it did sound like some fanciful "feel good" factoid, but this video and your comment really make me wonder if maybe it wasn't true.

[@syber-space]

It's definitely possible with some fairly simple program logic. Super useful in mesh networks to help establish a universal sync. A really simple version is a timer that slowly increases the "urge" to blink, and seeing another blink makes the timer run faster. Over time the timers will synchronize fairly accurately.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Synchronicity is a wonderful thing.

[@hondolane3125]

I had no idea there were so many different blinking patterns. As to the "how" they sync up, I can only think of the phenomenon where multiple people walking together will unintentionally synchronize their steps.

[@OomBeeMe]

It's crazy because growing up in Italy, all the fireflies I have ever seen only flashed in continuous short pulses. So I was amazed to discover that there are fireflies that can hold light more than a millisecond like the one you grew up with! :)

[@SuperBroncosguy]

Man you just blew this mid 60's ish guy's MIND! Grew up next to corn fields in Iowa & we had clouds of lightning bugs but they were all disjointed little dudes like you grew up with. The flash & fade kind. You might see a few in a group do the synchronized kinda flashing but it was probably luck! Thanks for bringing back happy childhood memories! I ❤ science.

[@Orangie2008]

This makes me very appreciative of how amazing our eyes are, compared to camera lenses. It's also pretty amazing that cameras can be designed to let us see wavelengths that our own eyes can't detect.

[@bmayotte]

I feel like bioluminescence doesn't pick up on camera like it does in person. The only way to really experience this amazing part of nature is experiencing it in person. Awesome video.

[@MrDJAK777]

Right camera will pick it up just fine. Having a monitor that can then reproduce that accurately enough with out detail getting lost in noise is a different question. massive contrast (so OLED) helps though.

[@drcurby]

I live in the city, and have tons of fireflies in the park. Every night me and my dog go for a magical walk through the lights. My phone camera won't do it justice, unfortunately. Very cool video!!! Thanks for sharing

[@everydayarcher7764]

Dear Smarter Every Day A couple weeks ago I came up with this question. If you have a flashlight, and a slow motion camera and if the camera was pointing at the end of light I was wondering if you could see the light beam build up. I dont know if this is possible but please let me know what you think.

[@sofanmax]

Thank you Smarter Every Day for covering fireflies! I live in a village where there used to be millions of lightning bugs in the rice field about two decades ago. Unfortunately, pesticides, water pollution, and other contaminations drove them away. It used to be so beautiful going out at night. I don't see them anymore nowadays.

[@angieemm]

I think I heard them screaming "Marco....Polo..." I'm in central Texas and I've only seen the slow, pulsing fireflies but this year, we're in such a drought, I haven't seen any. Thank you so much for sharing this with us and helping us get a little smarter!

[@haggielady]

I've seen Fireflies all over the eastern US. Some are synced and some aren't, but they are all wonderous. Thank you for reminding us that the simple things are the best.

[@wilreul]

The video quality may not have been always on top, but the sound sure is!!! We tend to forget how much sound important is, and it really shows here! Your level of sound quality has always been on top!

[@michaelfleury8472]

I have them around my house, they don't seem to all sync up together but they get very close to it if they are close to each other

[@michaelfleury8472]

Forgot to add I was watching them about half hour ago and some times they even sneak in the house

[@dave1066]

2:30 Destin "we're kinda in his (Robin's) house" Robin "we're in the Lord's house" Amen, God has provided us with an abundance of gifts, the wonders of nature just being one. Amazing fire flies, and well done for posting all the images and not just the later ones using the 'better' camera, makes your channel much more personal - appreciated!

[@knife-wieldingspidergod5059]

I bet he is pissed that we are trashing his house.

[@JMM2479]

This is so magical. Those photos were amazing! Watched this with my daughter and now we're making plans to go exploring!

[@ps86v52]

Yes! The blue ghost fireflies in western N.C. are incredible as well.

[@smartereveryday]

We saw some out there on that night!

[@andrewg229]

Yes, I was looking for this comment! Also anywhere here in NC, the ones flying at hip height and the ones at the height of your house roof are 2 different species as well

[@Odood19]

Those final images/clips were stunning. I could see a photographer making a whole career off of capturing fireflies on film.

[@redeyeofthenightfall]

this is absolutely my favorite video. no question. hands down you somehow always find the magic in life. thankful for your videos because no one that i know thinks like you do the saying is, 'expect the unexpected' and you are the personification of that i love it so much

[@Xiaotian_Guan]

David Attenborough covered similar phenomenon in his film Light on Earth. It's a phenomenal documentary on bioluminescence, from algae to mushrooms to fireflies etc. It's one of my favorite from David Attenborough, highly recommend.

[@wrongrabbit]

I can't explain it, but out of so many amazing videos you put out, this one felt like the best yet, even it it wasn't the most technical or extravagant. Something about just going out to observe fireflies, it's so simple, and the synchronicity is really interesting. Makes me want to experience it too 💛

[@MrBigjoecincy]

I'm seeing more lightening bugs here in Southern KY this year than I have in my whole life growing up around Cincinnati. It really is something hard to film or take pictures of. Something you really just have to see with your own eyes.

[@brentsta]

Who Dey

[@ByteStryker]

+1 for "lightning bugs" Thanks Mr. Taylor, Destin & Trent for all of the effort to share this. 👍

[@vj420]

ive never seen this many fireflies together like this so have never seen the phenomenon of them syncing up. great video as always Destin

[@vell0cet517]

This happens in my back yard occasionally. It blew my mind the first time I saw it--as I was totally unaware of the phenomena. Nature is beautiful and full of wonder.

[@nicknack125]

So glad you covered this! This occurs in the Congaree Swamp near me, and I always see it every year. Super hard to video / photograph but your results were great.

[@jaredj631]

I’ve heard of this on radiolab about 10years ago. There are huge populations of these in china on the yellow river. I have not heard anything about them since. Thanks for the video!

[@KitKatinBama]

Loved your video! Catching and putting the "lightning bugs" as we called them growing up...in a mason jar was a never forgotten memory. We live in the great state of Alabama that has so much to offer. You might consider visiting Dismal Canyon this fall. When the temperature is cooler you can reserve a spot for a guided tour of the "glow worms" only found near this Cavern. Similar ones are found in New Zealand and Australia except our glow worms light up at both ends of their tiny bodies. Others light up at only one end. After a visit there last Saturday we were told National Geographic was there about a year ago. They are not sure when the episode will air. They had an episode about 5 years ago about the dismalites in New Zealand. You and your family would really enjoy it. Thanks for all you do!

[@florianwalter704]

Forget about eh synchronization in the video. Those photos are purely stunning!

[@journeytothecenterofnothin7782]

Hey Destin. Love your content. Love the verse you leave at the end. I used to wait to check out what new verse you included. Thanks for doing what you do.

[@theodom1858]

now I know at the time of posting this you didn't have enough time to watch the entire video since it hadn't been out for 19 minutes so either one of us is lying or you skipped ahead and I don't know which one is worse

[@StealthPlatypus1]

Don't forget, God is always watching and judging you.

[@theodom1858]

@Felipe I was just making a joke because I was confused about how quickly he commented Edit: obviously lying in general would be a worse thing than skipping through a youtube video. That could have been an indication that I was indeed not serious

[@anirudhdangi1978]

here I am having dinner at 3AM watching this with an assignment due Wednesday

[@claudiocotto6269]

2am for me haha

[@decorticate]

based

[@elainebenes7971]

Samoa?

[@briannenurse4640]

My family used to vacation in the Great Smokey Mountains every year, so I've seen this myself. It's gorgeous. I'd love to see further video of LED experiments if anyone does those, that would be something lovely to witness.

[@ChuckDaBear]

There is so much wonder in the world. Most people don’t take the time to notice it. I’m glad that you take the time Destin and share it with the world.

[@EddieSprouse]

Great episodes. It took me back about 50 years chasing and playing with Fireflies. I thought the still photos were absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing your sense of wonder and discovery with us all.

[@BassGr00ve]

Man, this was absolutely magical. Thank you Destin for having the most magically entertaining and intelectually curious channel on this website.

[@regressmenot]

I've heard of this but have never witnessed it myself. Very interesting.

[@Andyroo28954]

Hey Destin this is such an amazing video, brings me back. Is there any chance we could get the full resolution images. (They would look amazing as wallpapers)

[@KaaSerpent]

This is why I love your videos, Destin. You go from submarines to coast guard to carburetors to fireflies and make them ALL interesting.

[@ryderscustomcreations3665]

I just moved to Arkansas from California in hopes that my 4 boys would have a better life with outdoor experiences. Tonight when we pulled up to our house we were greeted by 6 deer amd then 5 acres of fireflies all over!! I had only heard of them as a kid and now my boys got the experience of chasing and catching fireflies! So magical!

[@davidturner4987]

I love your videos Destin. They make me feel better about the world and people in general.

[@inventgineer]

"It was this moment in my life that I finally realized....that there are different flash patterns for lightning bugs. This is something I didn't know as an adult." I love how your phrasing implies that is something that all adults living around such creatures should know. (Tragically) how many people think like that? How many people get so excited over learning something random and new about the world around them that they phrase it as "at this moment in my life" implying a certain gravitas/meaningful to that newly learned material; to that exact moment; no matter what regarding. *Happy sigh *never change, Destin. I feel that same deep, almost spiritual joy is learning new things. And as someone who grew up all his young life thru high school thinking he was going to have a career in entomology....I'm that much more biased in enjoying this episode! 😄. Thanks, as always, for sharing your joy of learning in fun friendly ways, and in the process helping encourage that passion in others.

[@rughty]

Glad to know I wasn't hallucinating. I saw this a few years ago. Even though lightning bugs are very common in my area I had only seen this once. I thought it was a fluke. Now I know why, and where to go back to see it again. It was at a Christmas tree farm. Even better yet, it was next to an open field that allowed a very wide open view of the trees.

[@gendoll5006]

I live in the south and catching lightening bugs every summer is so magical. Just sitting on the back porch and watching them every night is magic in itself.

[@bertdellaluna5612]

Destin, when I was a kid I just enjoyed capturing lightning bugs in the backyard. Now I realize it was truly a close encounter of the third kind. If I could only be a kid again...

[@abmaelfernandes8499]

This is incredible. My wife and I live around farms and woods in Prattville AL. We got home from Wednesday night church a few weeks ago and we could not believe what we saw. Synchronous fireflies making a constellation of little stars right at our back yard! It was stunning! Thank you so much Desin for making this video! Now I show my friend what we saw!

[@smartereveryday]

You found some!!!

[@damien12221]

Thank you so much Destin! The truth is that I'm so happy to see your awe inspiring video's

[@ComanderCool909]

I've never seen fireflies so this was AWESOME yoU GOT ME WITH THE 1-YEAR RETURN! WOW IT GOT BETTER You've outdone yourself, seeing you chase fireflies and the science and just child-like enjoyment, this is peak youtube

[@F_L_U_X]

9:05 that one was amazing! So small you couldn't even see him. Nice job, Destin.

[@Moon_omens824]

ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴇᴇᴅʙᴀᴄᴋ sᴇɴᴅ ᴍᴇ ᴀ ᴅɪʀᴇᴄᴛ ᴍsɢ ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ sʜᴀʀᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜ🔝✍️❤️....ʷʰᵃᵗ’ˢ ᵃᵖᵖ┼¹⁵⁰²²⁰⁹⁹⁵¹⁹

[@thestealthtarget]

@5:53 you can trace the lightning bugs. That is one lightning bug moving around making that single track. The exposure catches his entire route. This is exactly like a spaghetti flow model you would look at in CFD

[@randommill]

Wow. You taught me something about my own backyard that I didn't know. I didn't know we have 2 different kinds of fireflies in our backyard! We've lived in the same house in Indiana for over 20 years and I've seen the fireflies in our backyard hundreds of evenings. I had noticed that some would blink differently than others, but just thought the same firefly would behave differently at times. This evening, I tracked ones that would flash for maybe a quarter second every 5-7 seconds. They were rising out of the grass and flowers at the edges of the yard. These were the ones I remember from my childhood. It looks like they are called the common eastern firefly or big dipper firefly. But there were others that came out about 15 minutes later. They were about half the size and would just give a quick blink every 3-4 seconds. They came out from a wooded area, and were much harder to see and catch. It's going to take a little more research to find out what they are called. And I'm going to study them a bit to see if they synchronize at all as it gets really dark. Thank you for teaching me something I didn't know about my own yard, and making me curious to know more.

[@jcmilleker5449]

Amazing! The footage shows a rolling effect to the synchronization. Were they like that in real life or is that the rolling shutter at work?

[@FectacularSpail]

I'd highly recommend a book I read years ago by a guy named Steven Strogatz called "Sync: How Order Emerges from Chaos In the Universe, Nature, and Daily Life". He studies how some systems seem to spontaneously synchronize, including fireflies, but also other stuff like the cells in the heart that contract in sync to make your heart beat. Really neat stuff.

[@marcDS]

My wife and I went to Key Largo in April. Our first night there just happened to be three nights after the full moon, which is the ideal night to capture the bioluminescent display of the Bermuda fireworm. At exactly 55 minutes after sunset, the ocean lights up for about 20 minutes as the worms swim to the surface and spin around with a glowing trail. We timed the worms over the next few nights, and they always showed up exactly 55 minutes after sunset, although in fewer numbers each night. Bioluminescence is amazing!

[@roccoelleto9900]

Those long exposure shots were pure magic. The wonder of nature is amazing.

[@ImKevan]

Ohh good timing, this looks cool :o

[@Remls]

They do indeed have good timing

[@ImKevan]

@@Remls Is it bad that i didn't even realize I made the pun and then laughed at my own pun when i did realize? lol

[@lucasagua77]

You probably wont see this destin, but your videos, especially this kind of videos bring a big fat smile on my face, i am a biology student so this one was very dear to me. I added this to my bucket list, i did the same with the eclipse video and i actually went and saw one. You are living a remarkable life. Hope you know that

[@JohnDoe-qv2sn]

“We are in the Lord’s house” Amen brother!

[@lorenzmende]

Take the technical issues not that serious - this video was just nuts. I think everyone is totally excited about fireflies, but showing syncing ones is just a level above. Thank you for your patience, interest and the will to let us participate. Best blessings from germany, next time I'll have a closer look at our fireflies too.

[@Bigfute813]

Couldn't be better timing! I'm in West Virginia working on a theater festival and saw fireflies for the first time a few days ago! We don't have them on the west coast and they are truly magical

[@goonshark8668]

Hey Destin, Could this be a similar phenomenon like when you watch heaps of blinkers in traffic and they slowly come in sync then out of sync, could the fireflies have a certain frequency of flash that makes it look in sync most of the time and then every now and again out of time?

[@MM-ft2pv]

1 Corinthians 14: 34-35 🙏

[@YellRyan]

I love how the PBS show Wild Kratts taught me that fireflies had different flashs and synced up years ago, and now Dustin is just finding it out on his own. Very cool.

[@ErRasmussen]

I read a possible explanation for this in a book called Small World Networks. The hypothesis is that a few fireflies synchronizing their blinks increases each individuals chances of finding a mate, and this works until a majority of fireflies in an area are all blinking, and then they start de-synchronizing in order to differentiate themselves from others.

[@megabigblur]

We've got a species of synchronized fireflies that live in the berembang mangrove trees along the river in Kuala Selangor, Malaysia. I went for a boat tour back in the 90s. Most of us on the tour were city people and it was hard to believe they weren't Christmas lights until the boatman took us close enough to see some of the beetles. They're still around but not as abundant as they used to be sadly due to pollution and habitat destruction.