It was some 30 years ago that I first wandered into Miri River. It was just after my marriage and my father in-law, a Mirik, travelled often along the Miri River.
They have a pineapple farm at Sungai Maloi, a tributary of Miri River. On the weekends, I used to follow him by boat to the farm and we normally went home paddling to back home to Pujut Corner where the family home was.
We would paddle until the sun set and sometimes reached home around 10 o’clock at night. I could remember very well that both sides of the riverbanks were glittering with firefly’s light show. As my father in-law was superstitious person, he would remind us not to disturb the fireflies and to be content to just watch them and enjoy the show.
According to him, the trees that harbour fireflies have owners. By this he meant that meant they were “haunted”. It was enthralling to see them flickering in a group with a such perfect synchronicity.
Then too, sometimes at night we went out to catch prawns with homemade “serampang laut” along Pujut-Lutong section. The areas too were full of firefly displays, but this was some thirty years ago. On a recent fishing excursion along the same river, I have not noticed fireflies, perhaps I just wasn’t paying enough attention. I will go back to do proper survey.
Fifteen years ago, at the height of my prawn-fishing craze, I remembered travelling sections of Suai River, it used to be literally lit by firefly displays. We would drive to Kg Iran from Miri, which is about 130km away and would be at the water’s edge by midnight. We would then get on our perahu and paddled to the best prawn sites. All the way to these sites, congregating fireflies littered the riverbanks.
One evening, our boat engine broke down near Pasir Puteh some 15 km from Iran. We were forced to paddle our way up river to Iran. The riverbanks then were glittering with fireflies. It kept us buoyant and at ease as we made our strenuous way upstream along the river.
Sarawak Rivers were once flourishing with fresh water and healthy mangrove system. That in turn supports and sustains a diverse array of flora and fauna. Fireflies are once amongst this flourishing component of this ecosystem.
Recently I attended a Firefly Workshop organised by Malaysian Nature Society, Conservation Division with several key firefly experts from UNIMAS and MNS. The Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Conservation (IBEC) hosted it and UNIMAS led by Dr Andrew Alek Tuan.
The workshop was supported by experts, among them entomologists Dr. Mahadimenakbar Mohamed Dawood of Universiti Malaysia Sabah; Wan Faridah Akmal Wan Jusoh of Universiti Putra Malaysia, and Sonny Wong, Senior Conservation Officer of the MNS Conservation Division.
It was really an eye opening workshop and proved to be a new learning high for me.
We went through a series of talks and slideshows by the experts at UNIMAS, this was followed by a fieldwork of first fireflies ever recorded in Sarawak at Sungai Buntal in Kuching.
The people of Kampong Buntal are aware of the importance of the fireflies and are supportive to this “Firefly Monitoring” project.
During a quick assessment session, we came across 90-display trees along each sides of the river. The total distance covered is about 10 kilometres. We discovered that there seemed to be two or more species of fireflies. This was identified by the different flashing patterns.
To positively identify a firefly, samples need to be captured. The specimens are then identified under a microscope. It’s possible that the identity of fireflies discovered that day were different than the ones originally catalogued.
Fireflies are actually beetles they are not fly. Entomologists better know them, as beetles in the family of Lampyridae.
Most known firefly species are bioluminescent as adults. Less known however, all known firefly larvae are bioluminescent, even their eggs. Fireflies are one of the indicator species of a river system. The presence fireflies indicate that the river is clean and supports a healthy mangrove system.
The life cycle of the firefly begins with the egg in the mangroves some 100 meters from the maximum tide level as this ensure the egg are not drowned during the high tide. The eggs hatch into a larvae and feed on tiny snails.
It takes 3–4 months for the larvae to pupate into an adult. The adults emerge from the pupa in moist grounds and fly to the display trees where they will attract a mate. They mate. The females then lay their eggs and thus the whole cycle of firefly life begins again.
Firefilies group together on a tree, this is called a congregating firefly. The tree is then known as a display tree. The most common display tree used by fireflies are the Berembang or mangrove apple, locally known as Buah Pedada (Sonneratia caseolaris), they also prefer a younger trees. Different species of fireflies have their own way of communicating to their specific species for mating, they have different flashing patterns.
Most rivers in Sarawak once supported huge Berembang trees population. However it was heavily harvested as a pilling for buildings and making local charcoal. For many years huge swath of mangrove swamps in Sarawak were destroyed in this way. Together with the mangroves, many fireflies’ congregations also destroyed in the process.
After this Fireflies Workshop, I pledge to back to the rivers where I used to see them for closer look at these fascinating little creatures.
High on the targeted list are rivers in Miri , Suai, Bekenu and Niah areas. These places used to be important prawns and fishing grounds.
I will endeavor to share the knowledge gained with the locals and impress on them the importance of fireflies and our river ecosystems.
They have a pineapple farm at Sungai Maloi, a tributary of Miri River. On the weekends, I used to follow him by boat to the farm and we normally went home paddling to back home to Pujut Corner where the family home was.
We would paddle until the sun set and sometimes reached home around 10 o’clock at night. I could remember very well that both sides of the riverbanks were glittering with firefly’s light show. As my father in-law was superstitious person, he would remind us not to disturb the fireflies and to be content to just watch them and enjoy the show.
According to him, the trees that harbour fireflies have owners. By this he meant that meant they were “haunted”. It was enthralling to see them flickering in a group with a such perfect synchronicity.
Then too, sometimes at night we went out to catch prawns with homemade “serampang laut” along Pujut-Lutong section. The areas too were full of firefly displays, but this was some thirty years ago. On a recent fishing excursion along the same river, I have not noticed fireflies, perhaps I just wasn’t paying enough attention. I will go back to do proper survey.
Fifteen years ago, at the height of my prawn-fishing craze, I remembered travelling sections of Suai River, it used to be literally lit by firefly displays. We would drive to Kg Iran from Miri, which is about 130km away and would be at the water’s edge by midnight. We would then get on our perahu and paddled to the best prawn sites. All the way to these sites, congregating fireflies littered the riverbanks.
One evening, our boat engine broke down near Pasir Puteh some 15 km from Iran. We were forced to paddle our way up river to Iran. The riverbanks then were glittering with fireflies. It kept us buoyant and at ease as we made our strenuous way upstream along the river.
Sarawak Rivers were once flourishing with fresh water and healthy mangrove system. That in turn supports and sustains a diverse array of flora and fauna. Fireflies are once amongst this flourishing component of this ecosystem.
Recently I attended a Firefly Workshop organised by Malaysian Nature Society, Conservation Division with several key firefly experts from UNIMAS and MNS. The Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Conservation (IBEC) hosted it and UNIMAS led by Dr Andrew Alek Tuan.
The workshop was supported by experts, among them entomologists Dr. Mahadimenakbar Mohamed Dawood of Universiti Malaysia Sabah; Wan Faridah Akmal Wan Jusoh of Universiti Putra Malaysia, and Sonny Wong, Senior Conservation Officer of the MNS Conservation Division.
It was really an eye opening workshop and proved to be a new learning high for me.
We went through a series of talks and slideshows by the experts at UNIMAS, this was followed by a fieldwork of first fireflies ever recorded in Sarawak at Sungai Buntal in Kuching.
The people of Kampong Buntal are aware of the importance of the fireflies and are supportive to this “Firefly Monitoring” project.
During a quick assessment session, we came across 90-display trees along each sides of the river. The total distance covered is about 10 kilometres. We discovered that there seemed to be two or more species of fireflies. This was identified by the different flashing patterns.
To positively identify a firefly, samples need to be captured. The specimens are then identified under a microscope. It’s possible that the identity of fireflies discovered that day were different than the ones originally catalogued.
Fireflies are actually beetles they are not fly. Entomologists better know them, as beetles in the family of Lampyridae.
Most known firefly species are bioluminescent as adults. Less known however, all known firefly larvae are bioluminescent, even their eggs. Fireflies are one of the indicator species of a river system. The presence fireflies indicate that the river is clean and supports a healthy mangrove system.
The life cycle of the firefly begins with the egg in the mangroves some 100 meters from the maximum tide level as this ensure the egg are not drowned during the high tide. The eggs hatch into a larvae and feed on tiny snails.
It takes 3–4 months for the larvae to pupate into an adult. The adults emerge from the pupa in moist grounds and fly to the display trees where they will attract a mate. They mate. The females then lay their eggs and thus the whole cycle of firefly life begins again.
Firefilies group together on a tree, this is called a congregating firefly. The tree is then known as a display tree. The most common display tree used by fireflies are the Berembang or mangrove apple, locally known as Buah Pedada (Sonneratia caseolaris), they also prefer a younger trees. Different species of fireflies have their own way of communicating to their specific species for mating, they have different flashing patterns.
Most rivers in Sarawak once supported huge Berembang trees population. However it was heavily harvested as a pilling for buildings and making local charcoal. For many years huge swath of mangrove swamps in Sarawak were destroyed in this way. Together with the mangroves, many fireflies’ congregations also destroyed in the process.
After this Fireflies Workshop, I pledge to back to the rivers where I used to see them for closer look at these fascinating little creatures.
High on the targeted list are rivers in Miri , Suai, Bekenu and Niah areas. These places used to be important prawns and fishing grounds.
I will endeavor to share the knowledge gained with the locals and impress on them the importance of fireflies and our river ecosystems.
I'm impressed....I would like to assist a recce for Sibuti river..will provide u with logistics
ReplyDeleteRemli,
ReplyDeleteThat good news. I will make a program to do a Reccee for Sibuti river.
Cheers,
Musa
Thank you for sharing your experience with us!
ReplyDelete