![]() ![]() Live fireflies first appeared on Taobao around 2009, where they gained popularity as wedding decorations. What happens to all those insects? Many die for romance-although, sadly, it’s not their own. Most were sold through Taobao, the popular online shopping platform, where one vendor reportedly sold as many as 200,000 per day. According to the Firefly Ecological Alliance (FEA), a Chengdu-based conservation organization, over 17 million live fireflies were purchased in 2016. ![]() In recent years Chinese urbanites have flocked to theme parks for massive firefly shows, and alarming numbers of the insects have become romantic gifts. Yet skyrocketing demand for live specimens is driving a lucrative trade that now threatens their survival. Spread across the country like a vast and sparkling tapestry, China’s lightning bugs could surely be considered a national treasure. But they’ve got money to spend and, for them, nature has become a commodity.Ĭhina is home to about 100 known firefly species in 21 genera, with perhaps 100 others yet to be discovered. Hemmed in on all sides and estranged from nature, these new city dwellers show symptoms of a pervasive modern affliction: nature nostalgia. During the past 35 years nearly 500 million people have moved from rural areas into cities. Imbued with ancient wisdom, abundant biodiversity and growing technological expertise, the People’s Republic of China is also undergoing a startling metamorphosis. No one realized the lights they’d left behind would soon be dancing toward darkness. Later the crowd headed back to the buses, illuminated by a rising half moon and still glowing with wonder. Fu pointed out the distinct flash patterns coming from different species, quickly reeling off their scientific names: Abscondita terminalis, A. Adults murmured quietly to one another in mesmerized delight. Our host, Xinhua Fu, an entomologist at Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan and an expert on Chinese fireflies, quickly ushered the eager group onto a dirt track that snaked between rice fields.Īs mist gathered between folds of distant hills, we saw the first glimmering fireflies. Over 400 city dwellers-young couples, grandparents, families with kids-had traveled for hours into the countryside to watch the sparkling courtship of bioluminescent beetles. As darkness fell, we joined the crowd that spilled out from five massive tour buses. Those spots include Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania, and a wildlife management area near Oak Ridge, Tenn.We left Wuhan, China, late one afternoon, crossing the Yangtze River and driving south for hours. The website, which provides information about lightning bugs, says there are relatively few spots in the world where synchronous fireflies can be found. It’s unknown how many places have fireflies that flash all at the same time. It’s possible that’s attributable to climate change, although it’s difficult to say conclusively, Chong said. Chong, a Clemson University scientist who is studying fireflies, said many species of bugs are out sooner, likely because of the warm winter and spring the state experienced. Park officials didn’t dispute that, saying Rametta has long-time experience with fireflies. Usually, the blinking reaches its peak later in the month, he said. He noticed it last weekend while leading a night-time owl tour at the park. Retired park ranger Fran Rametta, who said he first saw the phenomenon about 25 years ago at Congaree, said it appears to him that the synchronized blinking has begun earlier than usual this year. ![]()
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