FWD: Researchers race to breed flashing fireflies in captivity

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This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)

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http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/8/22/focus/8726018 & sec=focus

 

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Sunday August 22, 2004

Researchers race to breed flashing fireflies in captivity

BY DEVID RAJAH

 

THERE is hope that the synchronous flashing fireflies (Pteroptyx tener) of Kuala

Selangor will endure, as researchers race to breed the insects in captivity.

 

Researchers at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (Frim) have crossed the

first hurdle in getting the female fireflies to lay eggs in captivity.

 

Entomology research officer Nada Badruddin and her team have been working on

the captive breeding project since last year.

 

“After months of research, we found a suitable type of moss that can keep the

eggs in their original shape.

 

“Previously the eggs didn & #8217;t maintain their original shape because we were

trying to incubate them on a flat surface, & #8217; & #8217; she said, adding that

every month her team would go to Kuala Selangor to pick mating couples from the

berembang (Sonneratia spp.) trees at Kampung Kuantan.

 

From their laboratory observation, she said, they found that the male fireflies

had a much shorter lifespan, dying much faster than the females.

 

Nada said the firefly larvae fed on snails (Cyclotropis carinata) on the

grassland behind the berembang trees that line the riverbank.

 

“Adult fireflies have a lifespan of between two and four weeks, and they

congregate around the berembang trees to mate. The flash of a male firefly is

brighter than the female's,” said Nada.

 

No hard evidence has been found to support the fact that the fireflies only

mate around the berembang trees, she added.

 

Senior forest entomologist Dr Laurence G. Kirton said the study of fireflies at

Kampung Kuantan was an ongoing programme at Frim.

 

“Various studies on the insects have been carried out since four years ago to

understand their biology and ecology,” he said, adding that the captive breeding

project, if successful, would help to establish colonies in new areas.

 

In the Frim in Focus newsletter in 1999, Dr Krishnakumari Nalla- kumar, who did

a PhD thesis on fireflies, wrote that the firefly population had been dwindling

since about 15 years ago.

 

“Other than the fireflies & #8217; natural enemies and predators, development,

pollution and non-sustainable management practices were the main cause for the

decline,” she commented.

 

“Petrol and diesel pollutants released into the river from motorboats, the use

of pesticides and chemicals in agriculture and spraying of insecticides

especially to control mosquitoes have ultimately led to the firefly larvae

feeding on contaminated snails and slugs.”

 

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