REU and REV Students See Synchronous Fireflies

NIMBioS REU/REV participants took a field trip this week to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to see a biological phenomenon found in only one other place in the world: fireflies flashing in synchrony. The students arrived early and picnicked while waiting in line for the trolleys that would take them and the hundreds of other spectators to the prime viewing area that evening. The bioluminescent beetles did not disappoint. Shortly after 9 p.m. they began winking, and by 10 p.m. the area was flashing like an airport runway. For more information on the NIMBioS summer research experience programs, click here for REU, or here for REV. For more information on the synchronous fireflies in the Smokies, click here.

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