Fake mushroom experiment reveals why some fungi glow in the dark

It remains unclear why some mushrooms are bioluminescent, but studies using LED lights add to the evidence that mushrooms attract insects that help disperse spores.

To Michael Le Paige

Why do some mushrooms glow in the dark? Studies with real bioluminescent mushrooms and fake LED lights have added evidence that their glow attracts flies and other insects.

“Light helps attract potential spore dispersers,” says Katherine Adams of the University of California, Berkeley. These animals probably eat some of the spores, but mushrooms produce billions of spores, so they can sacrifice some to spread others more widely.

Few studies have attempted to examine why…