Who knew fungus gnats could be so magical?
When fireflies blink, they might be flirting.
How else would two beetles romance each other on a dark summer evening? Blinks are a part of their mating ritual, but they can also function as a reminder to enemies that they wouldn't taste very good.
Of the species that glow, each has its own light pattern, according to National Geographic. Some fireflies can even synchronize their lights!
These crystal jellies led to a Nobel Prize (and many green-hued animals).
Ever seen an emerald-tinted critter in the news? While luminescence has become more established in biological research, the green fluorescent protein (GFP) behind the glow was first identified in Aequorea victoria.
With 100 light-producing organs lining their circumference, these jellyfish emit a gentle light when they're stimulated. After tediously extracting thousands of specimens to identify the luminescent components back in the 1960s, a scientist named Osamu Shimomura isolated GFP and aequorin, another light-emitting protein, which led to a 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
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