Sometimes they refer to this as the Mangrove Discovery Night Tour. We drove through some flat wastelands in the rustic countryside in pitch total darkness. Only the vehicles lights prevented us from entering ditches and potholes.
About 10 minutes of a zig-zagging, meandering ride brought us to the river's edge at Tanjong Uban. We alighted and climbed up a wooden stilt house that had wooden steps going down the other side to the waters' edge. Each of us was given a life jacket and we attached it securely. Then we clambered into the long double seater prahu managed by a boatman and a guide acting as bowman. There were no navigational night lights on the boat although the boatman held a kind of torchlight. Thus, we were moving across the waters in pitch darkness! The guide instructed the boatman to move closer to and along the fringe of the Mangrove swamp. Then...we saw the fire flies ! By the hundreds! Thousands even... if you could count!
Giving the branches a shake will make them glow even brighter as they are disturbed. They have the ability to flash on and off..the lights on their aabdomen.
About 10 minutes of a zig-zagging, meandering ride brought us to the river's edge at Tanjong Uban. We alighted and climbed up a wooden stilt house that had wooden steps going down the other side to the waters' edge. Each of us was given a life jacket and we attached it securely. Then we clambered into the long double seater prahu managed by a boatman and a guide acting as bowman. There were no navigational night lights on the boat although the boatman held a kind of torchlight. Thus, we were moving across the waters in pitch darkness! The guide instructed the boatman to move closer to and along the fringe of the Mangrove swamp. Then...we saw the fire flies ! By the hundreds! Thousands even... if you could count!
Giving the branches a shake will make them glow even brighter as they are disturbed. They have the ability to flash on and off..the lights on their aabdomen.
It was truly a captivating night scene.
For me, I have seen fireflies before even in Singapore but not in such abundance!
All pics came from my camera. I think if you look closer you can actually see a firefly at the left side of this pic.
Our firefly guide standing up managed to catch quite a few for one Naturalist Scientist on my boat. I think her name begins with a C ! She was very proud of her specimens despite the guide telling her her joy will last for a day only.
Why? How come? Ask those who went for the answers.
How do fireflies produce light?
Fireflies produce light via a chemical reaction consisting of Luciferin (a substrate) combined with Luciferase (an enzyme), ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and oxygen. When these components are added, light is produced. McElroy (1951) described the reaction as:
There are several theories on how fireflies control the "on" and "off" of their photic organs. However, the exact mechanism(s) has yet to be worked out. The "Oxygen Control Theory" is based on the firefly turning on and off its light by controlling the oxygen supply to the photic organ for use in the chemical reaction. The "Neural Activation Theory" hypothesizes that fireflies have neural control of structures called "tracheal end cells" which, upon stimulation, may release a messenger molecule in the photic organ which initiates the activation of the chemical reaction. Regardless of how fireflies control the "on" and "off" of their bioluminescence, the production of light in the above manner is very efficient, with very little heat being given off as wasted energy. Imagine what would happen if the beetle got as warm as a light bulb!
Again, I was very surprised that my tiny camera has such powerful flash!
Fireflies produce light via a chemical reaction consisting of Luciferin (a substrate) combined with Luciferase (an enzyme), ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and oxygen. When these components are added, light is produced. McElroy (1951) described the reaction as:
There are several theories on how fireflies control the "on" and "off" of their photic organs. However, the exact mechanism(s) has yet to be worked out. The "Oxygen Control Theory" is based on the firefly turning on and off its light by controlling the oxygen supply to the photic organ for use in the chemical reaction. The "Neural Activation Theory" hypothesizes that fireflies have neural control of structures called "tracheal end cells" which, upon stimulation, may release a messenger molecule in the photic organ which initiates the activation of the chemical reaction. Regardless of how fireflies control the "on" and "off" of their bioluminescence, the production of light in the above manner is very efficient, with very little heat being given off as wasted energy. Imagine what would happen if the beetle got as warm as a light bulb!
Again, I was very surprised that my tiny camera has such powerful flash!
It made this very dark night swamp look like noon day!
Back on the stilt house again, I got those nearby for a group pic with our firefly guide.
Ah-so-deska! Now you can see the nature Scientist in green T and preciously holding her bottle of fireflies and also a leaf to feed them with.
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