Summary
Fireflies flash to send signals -- but some clever females copy another firefly's code to lure it in as a meal. Deep Look reveals how flashing light is a language, and how it can be used as a trap.
Viewer safety
Ages 7+Mild peril
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
Fireflies 'talk' with patterns of light. Each kind has its own flash code. A few fireflies fake another's code to trick and catch it -- proof that a signal carries real information.
- What are fireflies doing when they flash their lights?
- How can one firefly trick another using light?
- Why does the flashing count as sending information?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: signal, flash, communicate, information.
Try it: Make up a simple flashlight code with a partner (two blinks = hello). Write how fireflies use flashes as their own code.