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Neon green fireworms light up Long Beach water with their mating

April 13, 2026

It’s like abstract art, squiggly neon green lines moving swiftly through the seawater.

Bioluminescent fireworms engaging in a mating ritual in Long Beach’s Colorado Lagoon have been creating a buzz in recent days.

Bioluminescent “firewormsâ engaging in a mating ritual in Colorado Lagoon...

Bioluminescent “fireworms” engaging in a mating ritual in Colorado Lagoon drew crowds over the weekend, but the sight is rare and only happens during certain moon phases. (Photo courtesy of Patrick Coyne)

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“This stuff just seems like something out of a movie, something you dream about,” said photographer Patrick Coyne, who drove from Torrance to document the sea creatures. “When you physically get to see it in person with your eyes, it feels like you’re in a dream.”

Fellow photographer Mark Girardeau, who runs the website and account Orange County Outdoors, described how the fireworms rise from the seabed during certain moon phases for about 30 minutes to spawn at the surface. They are rarely seen, and few photos or videos exist of the bioluminescent creatures.

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Coyne and Girardeau, known for their all-nighters documenting the blue glowing bioluminescent waves along the coast the past few years, recorded them in Newport Harbor two years ago.

The duo first heard about the fireworms mating in Long Beach from a social media post and ventured to catch a glimpse on Thursday, April 16. They put out their footage and the following night more than 100 people showed up.

There were reports of sightings through the weekend, but with each night, there were fewer of the creatures spotted as the moon phase passed.

The worms are about an inch in length and create a “squiggly puzzle,” Coyne described.

They are not easy to document, he said, needing a low-light camera. And it’s unknown where they will show up.

“You have to be in the right place, at the right time,” he said.

Also, Girardeau noted, the water has to be calm. He saw a few glowing worms last year during a Fourth of July boat cruise in Newport Harbor, he said, but with so many boats and moving water, he couldn’t document them.

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Latz Laboratory has documented a few sightings in San Diego’s Mission Bay.

“The fireworm Odontosyllis phosphororea is a local polychaete worm that inhabits the bays of San Diego. They normally live in parchment tubes that are attached to hard surfaces. But every summer, within a few days of the quarter moon, these tiny worms emerge and present a spectacular display of mating while emitting a bright blue-green light,” according to an article posted by the laboratory.

The females come first to the surface, releasing eggs in a glowing cloud of mucus. The males, which have large eyes, are attracted to the glow and then spawn. The entire process takes half an hour.

Research also indicates the worms may use the glowing mucus as a defense mechanism, according to the Scripps researchers.

Girardeau said they look like “little glow sticks doing weird circles.”

“It’s something that is unlike anything else you’ve seen,” he said. “It’s just something different.”

Neon green fireworms light up Long Beach water with their mating Orange County Register

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Neon green fireworms light up Long Beach water with their mating

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