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Story and Photos: Supasorn Charoenwatana |
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The sun is falling to the edge of the sky, about to disappear behind a glimmering river. As darkness permeates the air, a different kind of light begins to dot the evening scene. Greenish yellow luminous specks rise gingerly from glass blades above the water to stop at a tree. Soon these glowing dots fill the tree, blinking rhythmically like the lights on a decorated Christmas tree. These lights are in fact "Queens of the night" insects-or fireflies.
The firefly, also known as lightening bug and glowworm, is a bug that belongs to the Lampyridae Family. In the world, there are roughly 2,000 firefly varieties, over 100 of which can be found in Thailand. They vary greatly in size, from only 2 millimeters to 10 centimeters long. Male fireflies have complete wings and are generally smaller than female ones. While larger, some female fireflies have complete wings, some short wings, and others no wings at all, making them look like worms.
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The biggest mystery about fireflies to most of us is: How do they produce light? The light they produce is cool bioluminescence. Fireflies have a chemical in their body, called "luciferin", which, with the help of an enzyme luciferase, can react with the oxygen they inhale to create magical, captivating light. The glow generated by this natural process has brightness ranging from 1/50 to 1/400 candlepower. Fireflies are generally able to glow starting from the larvae stage. They blink their light to communicate their wish and agreement to mate to the opposite sex.
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Queen Sirikit's fascination with these magical bugs has led to the conception of a royal research project that looked into the relationship between fireflies and the forest. The research has revealed that fireflies in the larvae stage can attack snails which are agricultural pests and intermediate hosts of parasitic worms that cause diseases in human. The researchers could not reproduce fireflies in controlled environments. This meant reproduction of fireflies was up to the nature. As their number continued to decline as a result of increased pollution and habitat loss, their fate seemed gloomy.
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There are encouraging developments, however. Khao Kheaw Open Zoo has a conservation program that aims to raise public awareness about fireflies, breed them for tourism purposes and eventually reintroduce them to nature. In addition, a firefly conservation program at a high school in Petchburi, initiated by a dynamic teacher, brings volunteer students to rehabilitate mangrove forests, the main firefly habitat. With these efforts, at least there is a growing glow of hope for fireflies.
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