Scientists have long wondered why some mushrooms glow in the dark? Now, they have found the reason. In a new study, researchers included 'flor de coco' mushroom, which could be found in the Brazilian coconut forests. The researchers discovered that the mushroom's light attracts the creatures like insects. The attracted insects spread the fungi's spores around the forest, which further leads to more glowing mushrooms in the forest.

Cassius Stevani, a biochemist at the Instituto de Quimica-Universidade de Sao Paulo in Brazil, said that the new study is very important as scientists were trying to figure out why mushroom glows at night.

According to Stevani, "The study answered the question, 'Why do fungi make light?' that was first asked, at least first asked in print, by Aristotle more than 2,000 years ago. The fungi make light so they are noticed by insects that can help the fungus colonize new habitats".

Jay Dunlap, Geneticist and molecular biologist from Dartmouth College's Geisel School of Medicine, said that bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. It had evolved independently several times in such diverse life.

Dunlap said that bacteria, fungi, insects and fish fight in their own way. Scientists have documented about 100,000 species of fungus, and out of them, 71 are bioluminescent. 'Flor de coco' mushroom is one of the biggest and brightest of them, according to the study.

According to the researchers, during the study, they found that a circadian clock was regulating the mushroom's bioluminescence. It allows the mushroom to glow only at nighttime. In the study, the researchers used two sets of plastic mushroom replicas, one with LED lights which was replicating bioluminescence, while the second set had no light.

They found that the glowing set attracted ants, flies, cockroaches, beetles, spiders, harvestmen, slugs, snails and centipedes.