Milky Way on earth: Spotting fireflies around the Island 火金姑「放閃」 來看螢火蟲漫天飛舞
Fireflies, commonly known as “hue kim goo” (fire gold lady) in Taiwanese, can usually be seen starting after the end of the Ching Ming Festival. Mid-April to late-May is the time in the year that we get to see the most fireflies — often in the mountains and farms across Taiwan.
There are more than 2,000 species of fireflies known to exist around the world, of which more than 60 species can be found in Taiwan. Fireflies live only in places with clean water and low light pollution: there needs to be the right surrounding ecological environment with clean river water.
Grass in woodland areas tends to contain many snails, which are the favorite food of firefly larvae. In March and April, adult fireflies will emerge and fly out in the evening to attract mates.
With the start of the 2018 Nantou Firefly Festival, picturesque scenes of fireflies in the wild have sparked a wave of firefly watching. 二0一八南投螢火蟲季活動登場，螢火蟲在野外螢光閃閃的美景，掀起一股賞螢熱潮。
Photo courtesy of Nantou Forest District Office, Forestry Bureau照片：林務局南投林管處提供
Increasing urban development and the use of pesticides have severely damaged their ecological environment so that seeing fireflies has become something of a luxury.
The glow from a firefly
Adult fireflies emit light through a light emitter in their abdomen. The glow from the light emitter is composed of a combination of light-emitting cells at the end of the abdomen. Upon contact with oxygen, a reduction-oxidation reaction (redox) occurs to produce light.
Each species of firefly emits light of different color and frequency. For example, a Taiwan Pyrocoelia analis glows with continuous yellow-green light, while the Aquatica ficta Olivier emits twinkling yellow light.
The firefly’s light flashes at a specific rhythm — it is the language they use to communicate with others, as well as a means for males to attract females to mate.
The glow behavior of fireflies also has additional functions including attracting, alerting and intimidating predators, providing illumination and camouflage.
Firefly viewing spots
Taipei City: Daan Forest Park, Ronxing Garden Park, Cui Lake in Muzha District
New Taipei City: Wen Sun Farm in Xindian District, Homei Trail and 53 other locations
Taoyuan City: Xiao Jing Ling Firefly Resort in Guishan District
Hsinchu County: Xinghai Firefly Area at Dongwo River in Neiwan Village
Miaoli County: Springcreek Hostel in Zhuolan Township, West Lake Resortopia in Sanyi Township, Firefly Farm in Tongxiao Township
Taichung City: Dongshih Forest Garden, Sijiaolin Coffee Farm
Nantou County: Four major firefly habitats (Sun Moon Lake, Aowanda, Guosing Township, and Chulu), Sun Link Sea Forest Recreation Area
Chiayi County: Meishan, Jhuci, Alisha, Jhongpu Townships
Tainan City: Meiling in Nanxi District, Guanshan in Nanhua District, Hsinhua Forest Farm
Kaohsiung City: Namasia District
Firefly observation tips
Flashlights should be covered with red cellophane to avoid harming the fireflies.
Never catch fireflies with your hands, as they will die if they are disturbed or touched.
The best time to observe fireflies is between 6pm and 8:30 pm.
(Translated by Lin Lee-kai)
螢火蟲的光
賞螢景點
賞螢小提醒
For your information
TODAY’S WORDS今日單字
1. firefly n. 螢火蟲 (ying2 huo3 chong2) 2. light pollution phr. 光害 (guang1 hai4) 3. larva n. 幼蟲 (you4 chong2) 4. glow v. 發光 (fa1 guang1) 5. twinkling a. 閃爍的 (shan3 shuo4 de5)
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