Fireflies Upend a Century of Brightness Measurements.
A new analysis recalibrates how bright a firefly’s flash really is, showing the long-accepted figure of 1013–1014 photons per flash is overestimated by 2–3 orders of magnitude. Using a simple lux meter and biochemistry checks, researchers found that old brightness estimates translated into modern units likely overstate output, suggesting other classic measurements may need revision and offering new insights into firefly vision and the biochemistry of their light production.
