malaysian naturalist, sept 2014
Notes on 17 years of MNS’s firefly habitat conservation initiative,
by Wong Choong Hay, MNS Wetlands Programme Manager
ALL OVER the world, funding and support for conservation work regarding spineless animals have lagged behind those for more charismatic megafauna and cuddly animals. Spineless here means creatures with no backbone, such as insects, spiders, molluscs and worms. When it comes to spineless animals, not much limelight is shone on them, and this is pretty much the case for the tiny light-producing insect, the firefly.
Fireflies are infused in our culture and stories, provide part of the ecosystem services and are economically important in medical research, biological light production and tourism. Saving them does protect all the other wildlife and plants in the firefly’s forest habitat.
In Malaysia, we are blessed that fireflies are getting some of the conservation limelight. Congregating fireflies along the 1,108ha riverine mangrove forest along Sungai Selangor are under the Zone Of Protection (Declared Area and Restriction) Notification, 2009 – (Fireflies, Mukim Pasangan), gazetted on 10 September 2009 under the LUAS Enactment, while the 152.98ha riverine mangrove forests along Sungai Sepetang, Perak, called Hutan Simpan Kelip-Kelip, was gazetted on 13 November 2013 as a Permanent Forest Reserve. So Malaysia, other than Japan, has two special protected areas for fireflies, which is unique among countries that host habitats for these bugs.
When I joined the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) in 1997, my very first assignment was fireflies, and admittedly, it was slow work at first. Much like my childhood days of bottling fireflies from my garden, there was no funding, and people didn’t really understand why I was trying to save Nature’s lights that were so abundant then. Seventeen years on, I’m happy to report that there are more opportunities for supported firefly work, and for meeting more of those who happily call themselves fireflyers, the term for firefly chasers coined by James Lloyd of the University of Florida.
My first firefly article came out in the Malaysian Naturalist in 2001, which I hoped would stimulate interest among readers. Here, I summarise my firefly excursions in four diverse habitats in Peninsular Malaysia, further aspiring that it will allow everyone to see fireflies in a whole new light – pun intended.
by Wong Choong Hay, MNS Wetlands Programme Manager
ALL OVER the world, funding and support for conservation work regarding spineless animals have lagged behind those for more charismatic megafauna and cuddly animals. Spineless here means creatures with no backbone, such as insects, spiders, molluscs and worms. When it comes to spineless animals, not much limelight is shone on them, and this is pretty much the case for the tiny light-producing insect, the firefly.
Fireflies are infused in our culture and stories, provide part of the ecosystem services and are economically important in medical research, biological light production and tourism. Saving them does protect all the other wildlife and plants in the firefly’s forest habitat.
In Malaysia, we are blessed that fireflies are getting some of the conservation limelight. Congregating fireflies along the 1,108ha riverine mangrove forest along Sungai Selangor are under the Zone Of Protection (Declared Area and Restriction) Notification, 2009 – (Fireflies, Mukim Pasangan), gazetted on 10 September 2009 under the LUAS Enactment, while the 152.98ha riverine mangrove forests along Sungai Sepetang, Perak, called Hutan Simpan Kelip-Kelip, was gazetted on 13 November 2013 as a Permanent Forest Reserve. So Malaysia, other than Japan, has two special protected areas for fireflies, which is unique among countries that host habitats for these bugs.
When I joined the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) in 1997, my very first assignment was fireflies, and admittedly, it was slow work at first. Much like my childhood days of bottling fireflies from my garden, there was no funding, and people didn’t really understand why I was trying to save Nature’s lights that were so abundant then. Seventeen years on, I’m happy to report that there are more opportunities for supported firefly work, and for meeting more of those who happily call themselves fireflyers, the term for firefly chasers coined by James Lloyd of the University of Florida.
My first firefly article came out in the Malaysian Naturalist in 2001, which I hoped would stimulate interest among readers. Here, I summarise my firefly excursions in four diverse habitats in Peninsular Malaysia, further aspiring that it will allow everyone to see fireflies in a whole new light – pun intended.
The Harsh North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest
In the extreme environment of a peat swamp forest, I had prior to 2013 seen no reports of fireflies, and only knew about them via a personal communication from a forest officer from Klias, Sabah. I finally had a chance to find out the situation for myself during the 2013 North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest Scientific Expedition organised by MNS with the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia and Selangor Forestry Department under the Asean Peatland Forest Project (APFP).
All the researchers went hunting during the day, but when darkness fell, I found myself the only one venturing out in the dark. One night outing was carried out in a cleared fell site, with canals fringing the logged-over peat forest. The fringe is bordered by oil palm, and I discovered fringe fireflies such as Pyrocoelia flying around, with a few Colophotia resting on the young trees. I also had a glimpse of a possible Stenocladus firefly larva on the dry dirt path.
Some other good news is that although this area was cleared, I saw footprints of the tapir and evidence of vegetation eaten by the creature. And, from a camera trap I later installed, I had wonderful proof in the form of a picture of an adult tapir.
Generally, where there is clean water, you tend to find fireflies. Here too, there were glowing Pyrocoelia fireflies flying along the peat forest fringe near the main canal, in the sparse canopy of a logged-over forest and along the fringe of a regenerated peat forest.
In the extreme environment of a peat swamp forest, I had prior to 2013 seen no reports of fireflies, and only knew about them via a personal communication from a forest officer from Klias, Sabah. I finally had a chance to find out the situation for myself during the 2013 North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest Scientific Expedition organised by MNS with the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia and Selangor Forestry Department under the Asean Peatland Forest Project (APFP).
All the researchers went hunting during the day, but when darkness fell, I found myself the only one venturing out in the dark. One night outing was carried out in a cleared fell site, with canals fringing the logged-over peat forest. The fringe is bordered by oil palm, and I discovered fringe fireflies such as Pyrocoelia flying around, with a few Colophotia resting on the young trees. I also had a glimpse of a possible Stenocladus firefly larva on the dry dirt path.
Some other good news is that although this area was cleared, I saw footprints of the tapir and evidence of vegetation eaten by the creature. And, from a camera trap I later installed, I had wonderful proof in the form of a picture of an adult tapir.
Generally, where there is clean water, you tend to find fireflies. Here too, there were glowing Pyrocoelia fireflies flying along the peat forest fringe near the main canal, in the sparse canopy of a logged-over forest and along the fringe of a regenerated peat forest.
The Mysterious Island Forest of Tioman
During a national survey of CFZs around the peninsula in 2010, I met someone in Rompin who mentioned that there are congregating fireflies in Tioman’s mangrove areas. My chance to explore came in 2013 under the Revisiting Our Original TreeS (ROOTS) project funded by the Berjaya Cares Foundation to create awareness about the terrestrial biodiversity of the island.
When we got there, however, the islanders pointed to the concrete road near Kampung Juara, at a higher elevation and away from the coast, as being abundant with fireflies. Nevertheless, we first checked out the mangroves, finding only a few fireflies after canoeing along the pristine river with mangrove trees growing over big boulders.
Then it was a foray into higher ground, which according to the villagers featured seasonal fireflies appearing after 8pm. It was a full moon, though, and we did not see many; just a tiny black, spiny larva, a dark Pyrocoelia larva and a glowing dark orange headed Pyrocoelia adult male firefly along the roadside and waterfall area.
However, an astonishing find was an unknown tiny, blinking flightless female firefly, probably a new species. Some female fireflies are similar to a huge larva with small wings, and some do not have them at all. Usually, flightless females are huge, and that got me wondering about the size of the male firefly!
We returned to the spot further up the road the next night. We spotted a glowing Diaphanes male and its larva (the species can be distinguished from Pyrocoelia via its bell-shaped head shield and space between the eyes); a Curtos firefly with dark wing tips and a half-moon light organ that glows weakly; and another dark Curtos firefly with two huge eyes, a slender body with an orange head shield and a half-moon light organ that blinks regularly. Curtos fireflies are recognised by the evenly spaced dimples on its wing shields and a prominent ridge.
I was happy with these discoveries, and this feeling didn’t fade even when we had to help push the four-wheel-drive vehicle that came to pick us up, which for some reason could not make it up several hills along the track. Anyway, it was a nice experience watching the stars among the tall primeval forest passing slowly in a heavy car.
During a national survey of CFZs around the peninsula in 2010, I met someone in Rompin who mentioned that there are congregating fireflies in Tioman’s mangrove areas. My chance to explore came in 2013 under the Revisiting Our Original TreeS (ROOTS) project funded by the Berjaya Cares Foundation to create awareness about the terrestrial biodiversity of the island.
When we got there, however, the islanders pointed to the concrete road near Kampung Juara, at a higher elevation and away from the coast, as being abundant with fireflies. Nevertheless, we first checked out the mangroves, finding only a few fireflies after canoeing along the pristine river with mangrove trees growing over big boulders.
Then it was a foray into higher ground, which according to the villagers featured seasonal fireflies appearing after 8pm. It was a full moon, though, and we did not see many; just a tiny black, spiny larva, a dark Pyrocoelia larva and a glowing dark orange headed Pyrocoelia adult male firefly along the roadside and waterfall area.
However, an astonishing find was an unknown tiny, blinking flightless female firefly, probably a new species. Some female fireflies are similar to a huge larva with small wings, and some do not have them at all. Usually, flightless females are huge, and that got me wondering about the size of the male firefly!
We returned to the spot further up the road the next night. We spotted a glowing Diaphanes male and its larva (the species can be distinguished from Pyrocoelia via its bell-shaped head shield and space between the eyes); a Curtos firefly with dark wing tips and a half-moon light organ that glows weakly; and another dark Curtos firefly with two huge eyes, a slender body with an orange head shield and a half-moon light organ that blinks regularly. Curtos fireflies are recognised by the evenly spaced dimples on its wing shields and a prominent ridge.
I was happy with these discoveries, and this feeling didn’t fade even when we had to help push the four-wheel-drive vehicle that came to pick us up, which for some reason could not make it up several hills along the track. Anyway, it was a nice experience watching the stars among the tall primeval forest passing slowly in a heavy car.
The Rare Coastal Hill Forest of Teluk Rubiah, Lumut
Undeveloped coastal hill forests are not common, even in Malaysia, and protected ones are rare in these developed times. The coastal hill forest is unique, as it features differences in soil base and can harbour natural treasures not found anywhere else. These coastal hill forests are also much drier than the inland version.
The opportunity to trek this terrain came in 2014, when I carried out a firefly survey during the Teluk Rubiah Scientific Expedition co-organised with Vale Mineral Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. This was the biggest group of firefly chasers following me in the night walks to date! I wasn’t complaining, though; going out with the younger generation was a definite advantage, as their eyes were sharper than mine.
The damp areas are mostly along the valleys, and that is where the fireflies were observed most. Only a small area was surveyed, along a ridge (an old road) between two valleys and the hill slope beside the rocky beach with a stream nearby.
A tiny black Luciola firefly with a half-moon light organ was found flying near the marshy valleys and the hill slope. Flashing while flying, it was easy to spot and catch for identification, while its larvae were found on the trail. Also found were the fringe firefly Pyrocoelia and its larva, whose usual haunt are secondary vegetation, fields, forest fringes and trails.
A surprise find along the dry earth trail was the beautiful Stenocladus larva, and there were two of them! This species curls up into an egg shape when threatened, showing off two glowing lights, which reminds me of Wall-E’s girlfriend EVE from the Pixar animation. Another surprise, since I once thought they were not common, was the Diplocladon widening its range around Malaysia. This pretty beetle had lights along both sides of the segmented body.
Undeveloped coastal hill forests are not common, even in Malaysia, and protected ones are rare in these developed times. The coastal hill forest is unique, as it features differences in soil base and can harbour natural treasures not found anywhere else. These coastal hill forests are also much drier than the inland version.
The opportunity to trek this terrain came in 2014, when I carried out a firefly survey during the Teluk Rubiah Scientific Expedition co-organised with Vale Mineral Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. This was the biggest group of firefly chasers following me in the night walks to date! I wasn’t complaining, though; going out with the younger generation was a definite advantage, as their eyes were sharper than mine.
The damp areas are mostly along the valleys, and that is where the fireflies were observed most. Only a small area was surveyed, along a ridge (an old road) between two valleys and the hill slope beside the rocky beach with a stream nearby.
A tiny black Luciola firefly with a half-moon light organ was found flying near the marshy valleys and the hill slope. Flashing while flying, it was easy to spot and catch for identification, while its larvae were found on the trail. Also found were the fringe firefly Pyrocoelia and its larva, whose usual haunt are secondary vegetation, fields, forest fringes and trails.
A surprise find along the dry earth trail was the beautiful Stenocladus larva, and there were two of them! This species curls up into an egg shape when threatened, showing off two glowing lights, which reminds me of Wall-E’s girlfriend EVE from the Pixar animation. Another surprise, since I once thought they were not common, was the Diplocladon widening its range around Malaysia. This pretty beetle had lights along both sides of the segmented body.
The Muddy Riverine Mangrove Forest of Kuala Selangor
The riverine mangrove forest along Sungai Selangor, from the river mouth to the brackish waters upstream, harbours many species of fireflies, including the dense population of a single species, the famously synchronous Pteroptyx tener. This species and a small population of another synchronous firefly, Pteroptyx malaccae, are found along the brackish region, while the non-synchronous Pteroptyx valida prefers the more salty regions at the river mouth, which is in the Kuala Selangor Nature Park. Both KSNP and Sungai Selangor are congregating firefly zones (CFZ).
KSNP has probably hosted fireflies long before the area became a park. I first saw them during a trip with Nobuyoshi Ohba, a Japanese fireflyer, in 1997. The congregating fireflies were confirmed by Ohba-san to be Pteroptyx valida, with both adults and larvae observed along the entrance to the ring bund or lake trail. The fig tree at the junction to the tower was the main site, with firefly larvae on the lalang and adults flying opposite the eastern canal, up on tall acacia trees, to attract females. Conditions back then were eminently suitable for their habitat, with a muddy bank and grasses. Other “firefly display trees” were found on the opposite bank along the northern canal.
I rarely visited the park after that, but during those times I did, my search yielded no fireflies at all or in very small numbers, in different months.
Around 2005 or oh-six, the park manager mentioned that the new noni (Morinda) trees along the left side of the eastern bund had many fireflies, especially early in the year, which is the wet season. Believing from their non-synchronous nature of flashing that the fireflies were Pteroptyx valida, I did not bother checking the species.
In 2010, the manager passed some specimens to me for a firefly taxonomy course at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia and Lesley Ballantyne, an Australian fireflyer, recognised them as Colophotia. It seemed that they overtook Pteroptyx valida in that habitat from factors unknown. Now the firefly colonies are found around the lake system and park boundaries.
One other firefly found in KSNP is the single-flyer Pyrocoelia, common in disturbed areas, forest fringes and plantations. Firefly larvae were discovered abundant in January 2011 along the main trail. Other luminous specimens found along the main trail are Dyakia striata, the world’s only bioluminescence terrestrial freshwater snail, bioluminescence fungi and bioluminescence zooplankton in the lake system.
Along the banks of Sungai Selangor, there is a newly described firefly by Ballantyne called Poluninius selangoriensis (collected by FRIM), in honour of the late Ivan Polunin, an MNS member who pioneered firefly studies in Malaysia. Here and in KSNP, another bioluminesecence beetle (Rhagophthalmidae family), relative of the firefly, the starworm (Diplocladon), was also found.
Due to the rehabilitation of the KSNP lake system under funding by Ricoh (Malaysia), firefly monitoring was one of the wildlife projects chosen in 2012/3, undertaken with the support of the Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (project no. 12253022). In future, a citizen science firefly monitoring will be set up to see the effects of changes in the environment and input to their habitat management. The firefly will also be used as a bio-indicator, to monitor the health of the environment or ecosystem, due to the ease of monitoring by the public.
The riverine mangrove forest along Sungai Selangor, from the river mouth to the brackish waters upstream, harbours many species of fireflies, including the dense population of a single species, the famously synchronous Pteroptyx tener. This species and a small population of another synchronous firefly, Pteroptyx malaccae, are found along the brackish region, while the non-synchronous Pteroptyx valida prefers the more salty regions at the river mouth, which is in the Kuala Selangor Nature Park. Both KSNP and Sungai Selangor are congregating firefly zones (CFZ).
KSNP has probably hosted fireflies long before the area became a park. I first saw them during a trip with Nobuyoshi Ohba, a Japanese fireflyer, in 1997. The congregating fireflies were confirmed by Ohba-san to be Pteroptyx valida, with both adults and larvae observed along the entrance to the ring bund or lake trail. The fig tree at the junction to the tower was the main site, with firefly larvae on the lalang and adults flying opposite the eastern canal, up on tall acacia trees, to attract females. Conditions back then were eminently suitable for their habitat, with a muddy bank and grasses. Other “firefly display trees” were found on the opposite bank along the northern canal.
I rarely visited the park after that, but during those times I did, my search yielded no fireflies at all or in very small numbers, in different months.
Around 2005 or oh-six, the park manager mentioned that the new noni (Morinda) trees along the left side of the eastern bund had many fireflies, especially early in the year, which is the wet season. Believing from their non-synchronous nature of flashing that the fireflies were Pteroptyx valida, I did not bother checking the species.
In 2010, the manager passed some specimens to me for a firefly taxonomy course at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia and Lesley Ballantyne, an Australian fireflyer, recognised them as Colophotia. It seemed that they overtook Pteroptyx valida in that habitat from factors unknown. Now the firefly colonies are found around the lake system and park boundaries.
One other firefly found in KSNP is the single-flyer Pyrocoelia, common in disturbed areas, forest fringes and plantations. Firefly larvae were discovered abundant in January 2011 along the main trail. Other luminous specimens found along the main trail are Dyakia striata, the world’s only bioluminescence terrestrial freshwater snail, bioluminescence fungi and bioluminescence zooplankton in the lake system.
Along the banks of Sungai Selangor, there is a newly described firefly by Ballantyne called Poluninius selangoriensis (collected by FRIM), in honour of the late Ivan Polunin, an MNS member who pioneered firefly studies in Malaysia. Here and in KSNP, another bioluminesecence beetle (Rhagophthalmidae family), relative of the firefly, the starworm (Diplocladon), was also found.
Due to the rehabilitation of the KSNP lake system under funding by Ricoh (Malaysia), firefly monitoring was one of the wildlife projects chosen in 2012/3, undertaken with the support of the Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (project no. 12253022). In future, a citizen science firefly monitoring will be set up to see the effects of changes in the environment and input to their habitat management. The firefly will also be used as a bio-indicator, to monitor the health of the environment or ecosystem, due to the ease of monitoring by the public.
Still Flying High
In the stillness of the night, mostly these flashes of cool light keep me company in my journey. Sometimes, though, friends and colleagues are there by my side, helping carry my net, alert me to firefly sightings and take great pictures of these tiny bugs with their big DSLR cameras. I thank, just to name a few, Andrew J. Sebastian, Sze Ming Hui, Ahmad Tarmizi, Andy Paul, Liew Weng Keong, Nobuyoshi Ohba and Lim Shy Tean, for their support.
And perhaps you, dear reader, will be my new companion as I continue MNS’s quest to cherish and protect this wonderful, magnetic light from Mother Nature.
In the stillness of the night, mostly these flashes of cool light keep me company in my journey. Sometimes, though, friends and colleagues are there by my side, helping carry my net, alert me to firefly sightings and take great pictures of these tiny bugs with their big DSLR cameras. I thank, just to name a few, Andrew J. Sebastian, Sze Ming Hui, Ahmad Tarmizi, Andy Paul, Liew Weng Keong, Nobuyoshi Ohba and Lim Shy Tean, for their support.
And perhaps you, dear reader, will be my new companion as I continue MNS’s quest to cherish and protect this wonderful, magnetic light from Mother Nature.