Evening Fireflies Sighting

Kelip-Kelip (Fireflies)

‘Kelip-Kelip‘ is the name called by the local Malay or Fireflies– one of the beetle family and here in Kuala Selangor specifically are from ‘Pteroptyx tener‘ species. Kuala Selangor firefly colony, in particular, may be one of the most significant firefly colonies in the world.

The life cycle of the firefly “Pteroptyx tener “begins with eggs that adult females lay in crevices or loose soil on the ground in the tidal flood plains of the river. A tiny larva hatches from each egg. Resembling small centipedes that only have three pairs of legs. The newly hatched larva is only about 2mm in length. Whitish and translucent in the early stage and gradually became darker as they consume food and grow. This larva can also produce light however they do not flash continuously, instead it turns on and off at will.

The larva feed on small snails that abundantly occur in their habitat. The most common species found along the riverbank here is ‘Cyclotropis carinata’. Relatively small in size about 7mm. The larva will become active at night, upon discovering a snail, the larva will pursue it and pierce the snail’s soft skin with its sharp jaws, injecting a toxin into its prey. the larva then sucks out the liquified tissues of the snails.

After approximately two weeks, the larva undergoes a moulting process in which it sheds its skin for a larger one to enable it to grow. The larva will dig a mud hole and curl up inside it, reappearing only after it has moulted and when its new skin has sufficiently hardened. The larva will undergo this process several times before the final time to pupate.

During this stage of dormant or inactive, it undergoes a morphological and physiological transformation into an adult firefly, which eventually emerges from the pupal case in the ground and takes to flight. The lifespan of a firefly is not known with certainty, adults may only live a few weeks, but the complete lifecycle of a firefly is thought to be around 7 to 8 months.