At 19:30 on October 23, 2017, in the section of Tianshi Cave toward Laojunge in Qingcheng Mountain, the reporter used a long exposure to shoot the lines of fireflies dancing, which is a new species of yellow-edged short-angle window fireflies discovered in 2001
Silver candle autumn light cold painting screen, light luo small fan fluttering firefly.
—— Du Mu, "Autumn Sunset"
"Silver candle autumn light cold painting screen, light luo small fan fluttering firefly." The late Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu depicted such a scene in "Autumn Eve": on an autumn night, the white candlelight reflected the cold painting screen; (the palace girl) held a small fan in her hand and lightly fluttered the flowing fireflies. Although it depicts the loneliness and resentment of the women of the deep palace, it also conveys a message: the fireflies that people often appear on summer nights can also be seen on autumn nights.
Two days ago, Zhao Li, director of the Huaxi Entomological Museum in Chengdu, found a group of fireflies spread over hundreds of meters on Mount Qingcheng on an autumn night. The location of its altitude of about 1100 meters is the first time he has encountered such a firefly swarm. In addition to his surprise, what excites him even more was that this species was the short-horned window firefly named the yellow-edged short-angle window firefly. According to records, this species of firefly is a new species that was only discovered in 2001, and has not been recorded in other provinces and regions except Shandong and Taiwan. This discovery is the first in Sichuan.
surprise
Mount Qingcheng is 1100 meters above sea level
A large number of fireflies are found on autumn nights
At about 7 p.m. on the 21st, Zhao Li, director of the Chengdu Huaxi Insect Museum, encountered a group of special spirits on his way from LaojunYoushan in Qingcheng Mountain, passing through the tianshi cave section. Having seen countless insects, he was still stunned by the scene in front of him - a large number of fireflies were scattered on the road for hundreds of meters. Wearing a headlamp, he quickly turned off the lighting and stood still at the scene. Soon, the elf who had just "extinguished" the light lit up again.
"There are more than 5 birds per square meter, dancing up and down the dark trails." Zhao Li told the Chengdu Business Daily reporter, "Personally, this is the first time I have encountered such a scene in China, the jungle is full of stars, like the Milky Way dancing, very dreamy and spectacular." I have seen such a high density of fireflies in the mangroves of Sabah, Malaysia. Zhao Li introduced that the altitude at that time was about 1100 meters, "This height plus this season, I still saw it for the first time." ”
Mountain window fireflies, more common
On the evening of the 23rd, the reporter of Chengdu Business Daily crawled through nearly an hour of mountain road and came to the section where Zhao Li encountered fireflies, waiting for the sky to darken. At about 18:40, the sky in the woods gradually darkened, and a point of light suddenly lit up around the small pavilion where the reporter stayed, which made people excited. At about 19:00, the points of light in the forest gradually increased. Half an hour later, it was even more flashing around, very dreamy.
excited
Newly discovered species yellow-rimmed short-horned window fireflies
Sichuan has not been recorded before
What kind of fireflies are present at such a high altitude this season? This aroused Zhao Li's curiosity. After returning to Chengdu over the weekend, Zhao Li consulted a large number of materials and finally had an answer according to the morphology of fireflies and the characteristics of the season.
Yellow-rimmed short-angle window fireflies
"I found it, it was a yellow-rimmed short-angled window firefly." Zhao Li, who learned the result, told reporters the news for the first time. "This is a new species of fireflies belonging to the genus Short-angled window fireflies, which were only discovered in 2001, and have been found in Taiwan and Shandong, but not in other provinces." This time it was first discovered in Sichuan and has not been recorded before. ”
Zhao Li further introduced that the yellow-edged short-angle window fireflies mainly appear from October to January of the following year, and the adult antennae are all jagged. Males have intact wings and females have no wings. The male has two segments of the luminous apparatus, and the female has four dots. The dorsal plate of the male's forebreast is beige, and the wing sheath is black, but the wings are originally distinctly yellow-sided. Females are beige in color, but have inconspicuous pink markings in the first two segments. The habitat is mainly around the jungle on both sides of the mountain road. In addition, the activity altitude is also higher, "Taiwan's record is also medium and high altitude," Zhao Li said, "I estimate that Fujian, Zhejiang and other places should have." ”
Probe for causes
Fireflies like to be wet
The large number of occurrences may be related to the recent rain intensity
Why was this rare species of fireflies discovered this time? Zhao Li analyzed, "It should have always existed, but it was ignored before." After this discovery, I hope that people who come to Qingcheng Mountain to play can pay attention to protecting them. ”
Yunnan flat fluorescent
"This firefly appears in large numbers in the Qingcheng Mountains, which should be inseparable from the rainy weather in Chengdu during this time." Zhao Li further explained that the larvae of this firefly feed on snails, and snails live in humid areas. Since the beginning of August, chengdu has experienced significantly more rain than in previous years. In the past month, it has been raining continuously, which has given the snail a good living environment, and then the firefly larvae that feed on it have a great increase in survival rate because of their abundant food. "And other species of fireflies, although the number may also increase, but because the time for feathering into adults is short, it is not this time, we can not see what has changed." This one was only feathered in late autumn, which caused a large outbreak of fireflies in the Qingcheng Mountains during this time. "This species should be rare all over the world, because through the Search of Latin Scientific Names, the species was named in 2001, very late." Most of the other fireflies in our country have been found and named more than 100 years ago. ”
Why it hasn't been discovered before
It is high, small, and faintly lit
For the larger firefly swarm found this time, it is located at an altitude of about 1100 meters, and after careful confirmation, it belongs to the genus Window Fireflies. "I'm still seeing it for the first time at this altitude, where fireflies were mostly at low altitudes." Zhao Li introduced that the reason why this kind of firefly has not been discovered for a long time is that its appearance is higher in altitude, small in size, faint in light appearance, a small number of individuals are easily ignored, and only swarms will attract attention. And they are very afraid of light, "there is a flashlight light will not shine, only the whole black environment can see, even the lighting of the mobile phone will make the surrounding fireflies within ten meters stop glowing." "Coupled with their appearance in late autumn, the Qingcheng Mountain Scenic Area is not open at night, and naturally few people find them."
The most common end of the black fireflies
Which fireflies prefer late autumn?
Fu Xinhua, an associate professor at the College of Plant Science and Technology of Huazhong Agricultural University and China's first doctor of fireflies, who has long been engaged in the research and protection of fireflies, said that in general, fireflies often appear in low-altitude environments, and the most appear in summer. But there are also some fireflies that appear at medium altitudes that are relatively hardy, generally at an altitude of 800 to 1,000 meters, "and there are very few high altitude areas above this level." ”
The genus Fireflies that appear in late autumn are mainly the genus Window Fireflies and the Short-horned Window Fireflies. The most common genus of fluorescent fireflies in life appears in the summer. Fu Xinhua said: "The dense occurrence of fireflies is closely related to environmental factors, and the large number of them shows that there is no pollution threat in their areas. ”
What fireflies are there in Mount Qingcheng?
Zhao Li introduced that there are more than ten species of fireflies that have been confirmed in Qingcheng Mountain in three genera. The three major genera are: Fluorescent, Window Fluorescent, and Flat Fluorescent. Specific species include: flat-breasted black-winged fireflies, large-ended blackfly, small-ended blackfly, striped-breasted black-winged fireflies, large red-breasted black-winged fireflies, small red-breasted black-winged fireflies, yellow-edged fireflies, summer window fireflies, red-breasted window fireflies, yellow-edged window fireflies, snow fireflies, Yunnan flat fireflies, etc. Relatively speaking, end black fireflies are the most common.
In terms of time of appearance, the vast majority of them appear in the summer, and the Yunnan flat fireflies appear in early October. In terms of altitude, it is basically at a low altitude, and Yunnan Bian Ying is at a relatively high altitude, generally above 900 meters.
Chengdu Business Daily reporter Du Yuquan photojournalist Liu Haiyun (photo courtesy of Zhao Li)