Sara Lewis: The loves and lies of fireflies

Biologist Sara Lewis has spent the past 20 years getting to the bottom of the magic and wonder of fireflies. In this charming talk, she tells us how and why the beetles produce their silent sparks, what happens when two fireflies have sex, and why one group of females is known as the firefly vampire. (It's not pretty.)

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[mr.bob]

Always nice to encounter a fellow firefly enthusiast. Unfortunately there are no fireflies in the section of Switzerland where I live.

[ArtistryofDebauchery]

I had no idea fireflies were that interesting.

[saralane]

Didn't know fireflies were that interesting ... We call them" lighten bugs" from where I'm from!! Lol

[JillH]

I had no idea there were so many different species of fireflies around the world.

[CobaltRaine]

Fireflies just became a lot less cool now that I know they're Twilight style vampires.

[eriksonyw]

How come YouTube doesn't recommend this great presentation more often?! I've been researching on fireflies for months, not even once did YT show me this vid! I had to find out this vid from outside sources. WTF!

[stevengill]

Wow - posted 9 years ago and only a few comments!
Here in California we have glowworms, at least some of which are larval fireflies that lose their luminosity when they become adults...I wonder why?
Bioluminescence is a fascinating field.... it's disturbing to hear fireflies are thinning out due to light pollution. When I was a kid, they talked about putting big reflectors in space to eliminate the need for street lights in conurbations....we didn't understand light pollution in those days...

[yujiblyp]

excellent presentation, I was not only inspired just by it, also moved about what she used prezi at TED stage. I saw it for the first time.

[henningdietze]

beautiful, magical, fantastic... did somebody count those words in this video? xD
and she talks like she is explaining fireflies to little children.
still informative though.

[lorenevisible]

Beautifully demonstrated & thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[jessicaboissonneault]

Very interesting! I typically listen to motivational Ted talks but this was interesting to learn about.

[magister]

Is it really exsanguination with insects, or would it be exhaemolymphation?

[JohnVKaravitis]

I wrote a program in C++ for a "Swarm Intelligence" class that modeled coordinated firefly flashing.  It's the same principle as people in a theater applauding.  Eventually, everyone gets into sync.

[WeChallenge]

Vampira Firefly! I have learned something new today that I didn't know yesterday. Mission accomplished.

[ECAPS.]

Let's hope this doesn't get cancelled.

[briangoodspeed]

Sara was my friend at Harvard 1971-1975

[pepstur]

Brilliant.  I'm glad to see that someone has actually made this an area of study and concern.  I once saw an area in an opening of a forest near a stream, with millions and million of fireflies.  I have always wondered about them.. During that particular moment, one firefly suddenly dropped from the air to the ground.  Dropping dead in mid air.  Why? I don't know, could it be the mosquito spraying that had been done or just old age of a 5 week old adult life.  It's also been something that I wanted to recreate in a film.  Just because of how simply awesome that one experience was.  Fireflies are out in my yard right now.  I've been watching them the past few nights. Maybe we can learn something more from these wonderful creations of creation itself.  My name is Peppi Turco and I'm leading a revolution of change.  

[thejepah]

12:10 it's a fucking firefly vampire!!!!

[konchus]

as a kid i saw alot of them....after the year 2001-02 i didnt see as much
 in brooklyn anymore

[macmacneill]

interesting
 but
Lewis sounds as if  
she is speaking to a class of 5th graders