On the bank of a gushing river in the forests of India’s Western Ghats, under the black velvet dome shimmering with countless stars, a tree lights up with flashes of neon, and goes dark again. On the opposite bank, another tree, also laden with these pulsating ‘stars’, lights up. To the continuous drone of the water flowing over large, smooth boulders, two species of frogs start calling for mates; their yearnings a duet in percussion. They reach a crescendo, pause, and begin again.
Photo: Samyak Kaninde
The pageant of light is collective yearning too. The creatures that bedeck trees world over are beetles belonging to the family Lampyridae. There are over 2000 species known to science, and each luminous species has a unique flash-and-pause pattern. (There are non-luminous, day-flying species too.) They are not vocal like frogs; light is their language of love. Flashing patterns are unique phrases that help different species identify their kind, similar to matrimonial websites that help us narrow down our choices.
The synchronous flashing of fireflies is a wonder of nature, just like the surreal sky-dance of the polar lights, and the long-haul migration of butterflies and birds. But, like the monarch butterfly migration, the luminous opera of fireflies may soon become an endangered phenomenon. In February this year, the Oxford journal BioScience carried on its cover a slow exposure photograph of fireflies lighting up a trail in the Great Smoky Mountains, and published the first systematic review of threats faced by fireflies globally.
The results of the study comprise the views of 49 firefly experts from around the world, representing, and sharing unique concerns from, diverse geographic regions. The results are a witness statement, and a warning. Habitat loss has been identified as the most serious threat to fireflies across all regions, followed by light pollution and pesticide use. While habitat loss is driving the insect apocalypse worldwide, light pollution is a unique threat that fireflies are reeling under.
Humans are obsessed with light, with ending the night, and we are spreading to the remotest corners of forests and riverbank mangroves, lighting them up, and snuffing out the lucent romance of fireflies. So much of our lighting is cosmetic. It serves no real purpose, and causes much harm to other beings, and to our own health. With the glares of our lights, we trespass the farthest ends of remnant ecosystems, disrupting the ecology of other life-forms.
Artificial light at night, or ALAN, is a menace born out of our modern lives. The “World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness”, published in the journal Science Advances in June 2016, revealed that 80 percent of the world’s population lives under ‘skyglow’, one of the three types ALAN is classified into. Skyglow is the glowing haze that brightens the night sky over urban areas, making it hard to see the stars, painting the clouds orange and pink, and sometimes, making your balcony bright enough to read a book. The second type, aptly called ‘light trespass’, is when light spreads beyond its intended or needed area. The third type, called glare, is any light that excessively illuminates areas or objects to the point of having a blinding effect, or causing visual discomfort. All types of artificial light, from human settlements, industry, and linear intrusions like roads that slice up forests, affects fireflies.
Fireflies are insects, and insects are the backbone of food webs. During their different life-stages, fireflies are predators as well as prey. Their decline can have cascading effects on the ecosystem. While comprehensive monitoring studies that could reveal population trends are missing for almost all firefly species, regional surveys, anecdotal reports and expert opinion clearly suggest a decline in the occurrence and abundance of many species over recent decades.
Biodiversity studies have been paying little attention to light pollution as a serious threat to wildlife, except those concerned with sea turtle nesting sites. Concerted awareness efforts about the fatal hazards to sea turtle hatchlings from illumination on nesting beaches have also helped focus public attention on the problem. Light pollution disrupts the ecology of many animals that are yet to find their conservation champions; and fireflies, along with many other nocturnal creatures, are still waiting for their moment under the dark, black sky.
According to some estimates, fireflies have been around for over 100 million years. Since the age of dinosaurs, they have been perfecting their language of light: flash codes as warnings, flash codes as yearnings. But they may not survive this age, dominated by a primate that invented the light bulb, and never got disenchanted with it.
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About the Author: Rizwan Mithawala is a Conservation Writer with the Wildlife Conservation Trust and a Fellow of the International League of Conservation Writers.
Disclaimer: The author is associated with Wildlife Conservation Trust. The views and opinions expressed in the article are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Wildlife Conservation Trust.
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