fireflies in singapore?


i do not think we will be able to see fireflies in their natural habitat in singapore ever again. it has been a long, long time since i last saw fireflies in singapore and these were seen within the vicinity of my house in the kampong. although, they were not in abundance, it was fascinating enough. i remember catching some and keeping them in a bottle. in the day, they appeared to be an ordinary insect.

the last time, i chased fireflies in the dark was more than thirty years ago at jason's bay in johor. we had ridden our motorbikes there and made camp on the beach. on that moonless light, we came across some of these bioluminscent bettles. we managed to catch some but released them soon after.

our malaysian friend who lives in kuala selangor had invited us in the past to visit her so that she could take us to kampong kuantan to watch the millions of fireflies by the riverbanks. found out during my last trip to desaru that you need not go all the way to kuala lumpur to catch this display of nature's wonder. you can also enjoy this experience along the banks of the johor river at kota tinggi.

fireflies are not flies; they are bettles. and not all species of firefly emit light or have a lantern at their ends. some species are able to synchronize their flashing so that they all flash in unison, on and off at the same time.

the flashing of fireflies is part of their courtship behaviour. generally male fireflies fly about and flash to locate females. each species of fireflies has its own flash pattern of male-female signal and response.