Nearly 13 hectares of land in the Matsu Islands are to be set aside for firefly conservation, becoming the first habitat to be preserved for an island insect species.
The decision comes a decade after two new species of firefly were identified by researchers at the Council of Agriculture’s Endemic Species Research Institute.
Led by institute entomologist Ho Jen-zon (何健鎔), the team spent two years studying the species after local residents noted their distinct behavior.
Photo courtesy of Beigan Township
While male fireflies usually emit light to attract females, in the Matsu species, the flightless females emit a steady light while on the ground to attract flighted males, typically between 7pm and 8pm.
The females also use the light as protection, emitting a blinking pattern while crawling or protecting their eggs as a warning to predators.
The team named the first species Rhagophthalmus beigansis after Beigan (北竿), where it is exclusively found. The second, found in Juguang (莒光), was named Rhagophthalmus giallolateralus.
Ho, who passed away in 2018, published the results of the research in the April 2012 issue of Zootaxa.
Only about 200 of the rare fireflies are left in the wild, prompting a collaboration between the Lienchiang County Government and the Forestry Bureau to set up a conservation area on Beigan, Dongju (東莒) and Xiju (西莒) islets.
All fireflies are affected by human encroachment, light pollution and pesticides, but these species are especially vulnerable as they live on the ground, Forestry Bureau Conservation Division Director Shih Chih-ching (石芝菁) said on Saturday.
The county government is therefore taking the initiative to designate a critical habitat to protect the insects, Shih said.
Residents are to be afforded 60 days notice, after which the county government would implement conservation measures, such as restrictions on land use and light pollution, she said.
Conservation areas have historically been established for the benefit of mammals, with few exceptions for insects, most notably the critical habitat designated in 2000 for the broad-tailed swallowtail butterfly, Shih said.
However, the Matsu firefly habitat would be the first to be established for an island-dwelling insect, she said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
Taiwanese barista Xie Yi-chen (謝溢宸) recently triumphed at the 2024 World Coffee Championships, taking home 1st place in the World Latte Art category. Xie, 28, impressed the judges in the final round with patterns of a whale, a moose, and a dragon in the three-day competition that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark from June 27-29, clinching the title of latte art world champion during his first time representing Taiwan on the world stage. At a press conference held by the Taiwan Coffee Association on Thursday, Xie said that creating latte art gives him a tremendous feeling of achievement. Speaking about his entries in
TRAVEL CONVENIENCE: The program is to shorten wait times while passing through airport checks and would start for Taiwanese from January next year Japan is to launch a new program to expedite entry procedures for Taiwanese starting from January next year. The Japanese government is planning to introduce new rules to shorten the time it takes foreign travelers to pass through immigration, thereby attracting more tourists to visit, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported yesterday. An airport preclearance program would be implemented to allow foreign travelers to finish some screenings at their departure airport’s terminals and undergo simple confirmation procedures upon arrival, it said. The program would initially be applied to travelers from Taiwan from January next year and could be extended to travelers from elsewhere depending
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to