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common
Common Eastern Firefly
Photinus pyralis
- Habitat
- Meadows & forest edges of eastern North America, summer evenings
- Body length
- 14 mm
- Order
- Coleoptera · Lampyridae
Weird but real
Each species has its own Morse-code flash pattern. Males flash a question, females flash the right answer.
Why it's cool
Produces cold light at nearly 100% energy efficiency, far better than any human bulb. Biology beat physics.
