Bioluminescent Species Common Names

Common Eastern Firefly

0.4–0.7” long from head to end of abdomen

Flying beetles

Dark brown body with dark eyespot surrounded

by red or pink on yellow head shield,

light-producing organ on ventral side of abdomen

Active at twilight in the late spring/summer

Adults don’t eat, but larva eat worms, slugs, &

snails

Why glow? Males fly in a J pattern, lighting on the

upswing. Females blink from the ground in

response if willing to mate

1/~15 species in Maryland!

Glow/railroad worm

Flying beetles - technically

Females remain larviform (wormlike) as adults,

males develop wings and have big fluffy antenna

4-5” in length (females)

Sets of glowing organs along lateral sides of body

segments in larvae and females

Insectivores that also eat millipedes and arthropods

Found in grass and leaves of forest floor

Why glow? Females glow to attract male mates

1/3 glowworm species in MD!

Beroe ovata

Brown/Pink Comb Jellies

Brown/Pink Comb Jellies

4” long from top to bottom of body lobes

Combs shimmer rainbow in daylight, bodies are

transparent jelly with a slight brown or pink tinge,

shaped like the letter U

Predatory carnivores that consume copepods,

other planktonic organisms and sometimes each

other by pumping water into their body cavity

When do they glow? They cast a soft green glow

when disturbed by waves or other organisms

Out in the St. Mary’s River! Present year round,

more abundant in spring and summer

Foxfire #1

Bitter oyster(ling) or Luminescent panellus

Omphalotus olearius3⁄16″ to 1¼″ in cap diameter, fan/kidney

shaped

- Same family as other oyster mushrooms

White/yellow/pale brown flesh during the day,

green glow at night

Grows in tight clusters on dead logs

Little to no stalk

Present year-round, new fruiting bodies in fall

and sometimes spring

Most often found decomposing hardwoods

including but not limited to oak, birch & maple

Why does it glow? To attract insects which

spread its spore

Fox Fire #2

Jack-o-lantern mushroom

Cap width: 2–8”, stalk length: 2–8”, stalk width: ½–

¾”

Bright orange-yellow caps with white spore print.

Funnel-shaped caps and curved fleshy stalks

Found in summer and fall in large, tight clusters

Exclusively grow attached to hardwoods

Poisonous and sometimes confused with

chanterelles (egg yellow and grow from ground)

Why does it glow? To attract insects which help

spread its spores

Common Eastern Firefly

Glow/Railroad worm

Brown/Pink Comb Jellies

Bitter Oyster(ling)

Jack-o-lantern mushroom