Bioluminescent fungi attract insects like click beetles with their glow. When insects land on the glowing fungi, they pick up spores and later drop them in new locations, helping the fungi to grow in different areas.
The insects are drawn to the light for various reasons, such as seeking mates or food, but it's the fungi that mainly benefit from this interaction by enhancing their spore dispersal.
The insects are drawn to the light for various reasons, such as seeking mates or food, but it's the fungi that mainly benefit from this interaction by enhancing their spore dispersal.
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00:00Fungi, unlike plants, thrive in the darkness of the forest floor.
00:07They're hidden until they begin to develop the incredible structures with which they reproduce.
00:15Each releases millions of microscopic spores that drift invisibly away.
00:22Many have fruiting bodies that reach upwards to catch any feeble current there might be in the clammy air.
00:32But this one, as it grows, becomes luminous.
00:43Why fungi light up has remained a mystery.
00:51Until now.
00:56Scientists studying the brightest fungi in the world think they may have an answer.
01:05Like a beacon, the light attracts insects.
01:12From far and wide.
01:16To this click beetle, a bright light means only one thing. A female click beetle.
01:24So he flashes in reply.