Call for efforts to protect fireflies

KUANTAN: More awareness and research campaigns need to be undertaken to ensure firefly colonies along Sungai Cherating do not go extinct.

National University of Singapore (NUS) Research Fellow Dr Wan Faridah Akmal Jusoh said the insects were sensitive to their environment and vulnerable to the threat faced by mangroves as well as river pollution, which could affect their breeding.

“Their habitat should be properly maintained and, if possible, there should be no mangrove forest exploration activities or development purposes in the immediate vicinity.

“Perhaps we can increase awareness campaigns and provide grants to researchers to conduct a more in-depth study on this incredible insect’s life-cycle,” she said at the launch of the World Fireflies Celebration Day 2018 here.

The event, jointly organised by Firefly Pals and the Turtles Conservation Society of Malaysia (TCS), is to mark the World Fireflies celebration, which takes place in the first week of July each year.

Present was TCS Executive Director Dr Chen Pelf Nyok and some 50 participants at the event, which saw them being briefed on the importance of fireflies. They also took part in fireflies activities along the river.

On the species found in Sungai Cherating , Wan Faridah said its scientific name was Pteroptyx bearni, and the first recorded evidence of the insect in Sungai Cherating was in 1993.

Wan Faridah said a similar species of fireflies, which was found in Singapore in 1909, had likely gone extinct.

She said there was a possibility that the fireflies at the Sungai Cherating area might face a similar threat if no proactive action was taken to manage their ecosystem.

She said more research was needed on the fireflies’ ecosystem.

This she added would ensure the insects’ survival.