Firefly Behavior and its Dynamical Richness: From Synchronization to Oscillation Death

Fireflies are fascinating insects from a physical viewpoint. Thus, numerous physical phenomena are involved in the understanding of their flashing. Firefly synchronization is the first observed natural phenomenon displaying such behavior in large ensembles. Nowadays, it

constitutes a paradigmatic example of synchronization associated in several firefly species with mating behavior. Interestingly, in terms of functionality, male synchronization is only the first step in the courtship, followed by a response from the females. The explanation of both mating steps can be described in terms of dynamical systems modeling whose equations are obtained from experimental results of the interaction of some automata denominated as electronic fireflies or, more technically, light-controlled oscillators (LCOs). A review of the principal attempts to build models that explain how and why fireflies synchronize is given in [1, 2]. The talk explains the experimental aspects related to LCOs, the construction of the model and its application to describe the phenomena of male synchronization, and the female response to synchronization. Furthermore, the oscillation death phenomenon in strongly coupled fireflies is also described.

[1] G.M. Ramírez-Ávila, J. Kurths, J.L. Deneubourg, Fireflies: A Paradigm in Synchronization, in: M. Edelman, E.E.N. Macau, M.A.F. Sanjuan (Eds.) Chaotic, Fractional, and Complex Dynamics: New Insights and Perspectives, Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2018, pp. 35-64.

[2] G.M. Ramírez-Ávila, J. Kurths, S. Depickère, J.-L. Deneubourg, Modeling Fireflies Synchronization, in: E.E.N. Macau (Ed.) A Mathematical Modeling Approach from Nonlinear

Dynamics to Complex Systems, Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2019, pp. 131-156.