3 ms·

This is neat. Did they ever figure out why Thailand fireflies do this, instead of just how?

• sliken 9y ago
  I suspect it helps avoid being eaten. Anything trying to eat them is presented with too many bright spots to track, then nothing to see.
  • eridius 9y ago
    Wouldn't that also be true of normal fireflies? It's pretty hard to track a single firefly if there's a bunch of them in the area.
    • sliken 9y ago
      Not so much, there's no competition, so it's easier to track. I used to collect freflies in a jar as a kid. Seems like a similar idea to schools of fish, herds of antelope, etc. Stay together (even if defenseless) and predators have a hard time picking an individual to hunt.
      • thecosas 9y ago
        Ah, the paradox of choice (Firefly Edition).