For a fact, not all insects are equally pretty, and some of them are downright scary when seen close up.

Everybody loves fireflies, though. You can fill your garden with as many lanterns as you want, but nothing quite compares to seeing a swarm of these bugs blinking through the trees.

Fireflies do not, unfortunately, make good pets, though there are some things you can do to make them feel at home in your yard. Now, there’s an easier way: a device that mimics their light signals and encourages them to take a closer look.

Handily, it’s also pocket-sized, making it a nice addition to your next camping trip.

An app (but not for Android, sorry, and it doesn’t look like the website is being maintained anymore) allows you to download signals corresponding to different firefly species and even program your own.

As many as five kinds of fireflies are often found in the same area, so this is a pretty useful feature. With over 150 species in North America and 2000+ across the world, you’ll be able to experiment to your heart’s content and even, if you feel qualified, try to capture a few for closer study.

There is one thing you should be aware of, though. At least in the case of birdwatching, it’s considered very bad form to replay the mating calls of rare or endangered species, as this is likely to confuse the birds and mess with their natural behavior.

As far as I know, no entomologist has expressed any concerns like this about the Firefly Communicator, but you may not want to over-use it where fireflies are not common.