Firefly, one of the
fascinating beetle that abound in
Malaysia
at one time and is now fast disappearing due to
the fast pace of development. Fortunately, there
are still firefly to be seen in Kuala Selangor,
about 90 minutes or so drive from
Kuala
Lumpur.
The two locations where
visitors can go to are Kampung Kuantan and
Kampung Bukit Belimbing in the district of Kuala
Selangor. The mangrove trees called "berembang
trees" bythe local grow along the riverbanks of
Kuala Selangor river. These are the trees where
the fireflies or "kelip kelip" in the local
language stay and feed on its leaves. During the
day, they
retreat
to the grasses near the angrove trees.
When night falls, the
fireflies will feed on the nectar of the leaves
and attract mates with their synchronised
flashing green light. The thorax of the insect
produces a green grow that flashes at a
frequency of 1/3 Hz, or 3 flashes in one second.
Each of the berembang tree has different groups
of fireflies and each group has flashes that are
synchronised.
The fireflies found here is
from the "Pteroptye tener" species and is about
6cm in length. They have a lifespan of about 2-3
months.
The best time to visit the
park is after nightfall at approximately 7:30pm
to 7:45pm. It is also advisable to go when it is
not full moon and not during raining evening.
Usually the place is quite packed during the
weekends hence try to go during weekdays. One
should take note that once the kelip kelip has
found its mate, the flashing would stop, usually by11.00 pm. Make sure that you do not go too
late as the park is opened from 7:30pm and
closes at 10:30pm.
The scientific name of
Berembang tree is called "Sonneratia Caselaris"
and is a type of mangrove tree that grows wild
near the banks of Selangor River where the damp
and swampy environment cause it to grow well.
Besides being a source of food for the
fireflies, it also acts as a filter that filters
the dirt and poison from the river that produces
clean water for the other living creatures. The
living creatures that thrives here are the
crabs, fish, birds and prawns.
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