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A firefly is a tiny bug that glows without any heat.

If you are lucky enough to be in a forest or near a field on a warm summer night, stop and watch. Tiny yellow-green lights will start to light up among the grass. They light up and go out, go out and light up. These are fireflies.

Each firefly is a small bug about the size of a fingernail. At the bottom of its abdomen is a special "lantern" part. There, a magical chemical reaction takes place: two substances - luciferin and luciferase - mix with oxygen. And light is created. No wires, no batteries, no heat. If you carefully hold a firefly in your palm, it does not burn at all. Unlike a regular light bulb, in which 90 percent of the energy is converted into useless heat, in a firefly almost 100 percent becomes light. It is the most economical light bulb in the world.

Why do they need this light? To find each other. The male flies in the dark and flashes in a certain rhythm - like Morse code. The female sits in the grass and responds with her own flashes. Each species of firefly has its own rhythm. It's like the language of love, written in light.

Scientists are so fascinated by fireflies that they are now using substances from their bodies in medicine to see how cells get sick. The tiny bug is helping to save people.

But fireflies need darkness. In big cities, where there are many streetlights, they can't find each other and disappear. So if you ever see these living stars, stay nearby in silence. And don't turn on your flashlight. Let them shine.