Twinkling insect stars
The world’s largest firefly can be found right inside Kuala Lumpur.
COULD Bukit Kiara, a forested hill in Kuala Lumpur surrounded by housing areas, be the home of the world’s largest firefly?
That was what had been circulating around social media prior to the first-ever “firefly walk” there last month. Due to the online buzz, some 500 people turned up for the event, organised by the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS).
Lim Koon Hup, a MNS flora group volunteer, said that he was taken aback by the large turnout. He explained that night walks were conducted quite often at Bukit Kiara, but not to see fireflies.
The discovery of the world’s largest firefly from the Lamprigera genus in Bukit Kiara had been confirmed by MNS officers a few months earlier. When word got out on social media, the place garnered ever more interest.
MNS president Henry Goh said that the walk was held in cooperation with local community group Friends of Bukit Kiara (FOBK) to highlight the importance of conserving the hill, which is one of the last green lungs in the city.
“The firefly is a good indicator of a healthy ecosystem,” he explained.
“It uses biologically produced light to communicate with other fireflies (of the same species). There are over 2,000 firefly species worldwide but we’re not sure of the numbers in Malaysia as there are very few firefly researchers here. So many of the fireflies may be new to science.”
As fireflies are easier to spot in the dark, the walk began after the sun went down. Street lights lining the Bukit Kiara tarmac trail were specially turned off for the event.
Due to the unexpectedly large number of visitors and the lack of a speaker system, participants were divided into smaller, more manageable groups.
Several different types of fireflies, as well as other bioluminescent insects like the star-worms, were spotted throughout the walk.
“We intend to do these walks more regularly,” said Lim, who is also a FOBK member.
Firefly tourism
“When we do these group walks, eco-conscious members would often help pick up rubbish scattered along the way,” added Lim.
“We hope people won’t litter in the first place. We want the environment to be condu- cive to appreciate nature.”
MNS wetlands programme manager Sonny Wong, a firefly expert who helped facilitate the walk, gave insights to the night’s star attraction.
From school biology, we learn that most insects follow four stages in their development: egg, larvae, pupae and finally adult. Most types of fireflies will have both flying adult males and females.
However, the Lamprigera fireflies have adult females that look like larvae – this is a biological phenomenon called “larviform female”.
Typically, the female adult is wingless and generally larger than the male. However, the males’ smaller size is compensated by an ability to fly.
Wong explained that the larvae of the Lamprigera firefly has four light organs. Whereas, the adult female has only two light organs, is huge and does not fly. Specimens