Fireflies under a dense forest canopy in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina border. Moonlight appearing through passing fog brightens the forest in parts of the video.
The Great Smoky is home to 19 species of fireflies, including the rare Blue Ghosts that appear in this June 2023 video for my National Geographic Society long-term project: Life at Night Atlas.
Unlike brighter fireflies that appear high above the forest floor with bright green-yellow flashes, they fly only 1-2 feet from the floor and display a steady dilm glow that from a distant look pale blue to human eyes. The camera records their true green color. It is known as Purkinje effect. Our dark-adapted eyes shift to peak light sensitivity of blue in lowlight environment.
Firefly flashes are mainly for mating, in the warm moist season. Blue ghosts female are wingless beetles and glow from the ground. This is why the males fly close to the canopy’s dark floor.
Fiireflies are in trouble. Their populations decline worldwide, mainly due to light pollution, pesticide, and climate change. The fireflies light signals, essential for reproduction, reduce by about 50% in the presence of bright artificial light. If you live outside of cities you can bring back fireflies by using less outdoor lights, motion-sensor lights, shielded and pointed to the ground. They are least affected by red light.
Music by composer Barbad Bayat, a part of our ongoing Celestial Orchestra project.
Night at Night Atlas: https://nightatlas.org
License inquiries: https://babaktafreshi.com/contact