Hey, it's Ira Flato, and you're listening to Science Friday.

Today on the show, we illuminate some surprising firefly science.

Like, did you know that they're toxic if you eat one?

You would have to eat about 20 fireflies to die as the average human.

Okay. 20 fireflies to die as the average human. One of my favorite sights of summer is fireflies.

You know, they're magical blinking lights serving as tiny beacons in the warm, dark night.

Who could resist catching one, right?

Because their light comes from bodily chemicals,

the special way that fireflies light up has long been used as a research tool in medicine,

driving scientists to better illuminate the inner workings of the beetle. And as such, researchers have

recently discovered that fireflies' glowing lanterns

are just one of the ways they communicate. Joining me now to talk about the latest firefly science,

are my guests, Dr. Sarah Lauer, Associate Professor of Biology at Bucknell University, based in

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Dr. Stephen Miller,

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Mass Chan Medical School

based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Welcome to Science Friday. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Sarah, I wanted to start with an overview of the firefly population.

I've seen some reports that fireflies are making a comeback.

I didn't even know they were in danger.

So what most people don't realize is that there are more than 2,000 species of fireflies.

I think we're up to 2,628. And each of these firefly species

has its own habitat requirements. So there are some species that are quite abundant. I'm thinking

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