Brendan is a Boy Scout working toward his Eagle Scout award and also enjoys cross-country running. As for his future career goals, Brendan says, "Time will tell."
Recently, entomologists have begun worrying that light pollution may interfere with firefly mating. Fireflies flash to find mates, and an abundance of man-made light may confuse them. Brendan located little research on the question.
Brendan began his project three years ago with field studies that deciphered firefly communications and measured the highest level of ambient light in which the bugs could signal. Last year, he built an enclosure for more controlled experiments. He installed a light platform that produced a range of wavelengths and recorded the responses of his fireflies to the entire spectrum. This year, he began analyzing wavelengths produced by typical urban lights and by fireflies. He discovered that fireflies could signal even in bright light and that the species responded to a wide range of wavelengths. Only one source of urban light, high-pressure sodium bulbs, appeared to interfere with firefly communications.
