Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A Firefly (family Lampyridae) found in a courtyard at Sheldon Lake State Park, in Houston, TX, USA, has the lantern on its belly exposed. Even though the Firefly is no longer alive, the luciferin in its lantern can still fluoresce brightly when exposed to UV light. (It's actually one of the brightest examples of fluorescence I've come across among things in nature.)
Under normal circumstances, the bioluminescence from the luciferin in a Firefly's lantern would be triggered via an enzymatic reaction involving luciferase.
A Firefly (family Lampyridae) found in a courtyard at Sheldon Lake State Park, in Houston, TX, USA, has the lantern on its belly exposed. Even though the Firefly is no longer alive, the luciferin in its lantern can still fluoresce brightly when exposed to UV light. (It's actually one of the brightest examples of fluorescence I've come across among things in nature.)
Under normal circumstances, the bioluminescence from the luciferin in a Firefly's lantern would be triggered via an enzymatic reaction involving luciferase.
