Demystifying the firefly trafficking industry chain: breeding difficulties are mostly wild catches

100,000 fireflies were stopped to reveal the firefly trafficking industry chain

Beijing, April 16 (CnBC) -- According to the China Village Voice's "Sannong China," April 13 this year is the traditional festival of the Dai people , The Songkran Festival. On this day, people get up early in the morning to bathe in the Buddha, and then begin a series of days of celebrations, during which everyone sprinkles pure water on each other and prays to wash away the bad luck of the past year. However, in the name of celebrating Songkran, some merchants launched the activity of "collectively releasing 100,000 fireflies". Recently, the relevant departments of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province urgently stopped the activity.

For fireflies, to release is to "let go". Merchants said that the fireflies released are all farmed. However, experts believe that the claim is not very credible, and the source of fireflies is likely to be artificially caught in the wild.

"If it is not heaven, it will be a moon star." This is the firefly in Li Bai's poem. In recent years, many exhibitions, weddings, and commercial activities have carried out collective fireflies, but after the colorful and lively, piles of dead fireflies have been left behind, which is called "blood-colored romance".

Fireflies are beneficial insects in agriculture, preying on snails that harm crops and fisheries, and are also an important part of biodiversity. However, the massive commercialization of fireflies has spawned a wild-caught industry. Villagers in many firefly habitats hunt and sell fireflies, resulting in a declining population of fireflies. Villagers in Menglun Town, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, once caught fireflies in large quantities for 5 cents each and sold them to "worm heads".

Reporter: In the past, did anyone in your village catch fireflies?

Villager: Yes, a lot of people go and grab it.

Reporter: Why arrest it?

Villager: In order to make a little money to catch, do not know protection.

Some media have exposed the industrial chain of live fireflies - villagers catch live fireflies, "worm heads" are acquired, and merchants trade and distribute online and offline. Most of the fireflies claimed to be farmed online are actually caught and sold from the wild, and the buyer can sell it for three or four times the price.

For the Xishuangbanna collective release of 100,000 fireflies, the organizer said that the fireflies used in the release came from the firefly breeding center, adopted semi-artificial bionic reproduction, and hatched through the fungal infection prevention room, and the required fireflies were collected within half a month before the start of the activity, and mating and laying eggs were completed before arrival.

However, Yue Hua, the initiator of the "Firefly Ecological Line" public welfare organization, analyzed that due to the limitations of the living environment of fireflies, there are still technical barriers to artificial cultivation of fireflies, the cost of cultivating a firefly is 10-20 yuan, the survival rate of a large number of artificial breeding is extremely low, and it is not realistic to prepare for the cultivation of 100,000 fireflies in a short period of time.

Yue Hua also introduced that with the increasing number of public opinion resistance, the "insect heads" have set up a greenhouse next to their homes, claiming that fireflies are farmed, but in fact they are still caught in the wild. He learned that in 2016, it was conservatively estimated that more than 6 million fireflies were sold, and the large "worm heads" could make 60 to 1 million yuan per year from this industry.

On the morning of the 11th, the official xishuangbanna emergency stopped the "Wanda Bar Street 100,000 fireflies flying" activity, and the organizer immediately issued a notice to cancel the release activity. Chang Zongbo, director of the Information Office of the Xishuangbanna Prefecture Forest Public Security Bureau, introduced:

Chang Zongbo: After receiving the report, we inquired online, and there was indeed a public account release, during the Dai New Year period, from April 12 to 17, to hold a 100,000 fireflies release activity in Wanda Park Bar Street.

After investigation, the batch of fireflies to be released by the organizers has not yet been transported to Jinghong City. Fireflies were purchased from a company in Hunan that had not yet gone through the approval formalities, including the "transportation permit," and therefore did not qualify for transportation and holding events.

The reporter contacted an artificial firefly breeding farm in Xiangtan, Hunan Province as a buyer, and the seller, Mr. Liu, introduced that he sold 1,000 live fireflies to the reporter at a price of 2.5 yuan per piece, ensuring that the survival rate was above 95%.

Mr. Liu: 2.5 yuan a piece. We have a lot of varieties, if you do activities, it is recommended that you pick a better and more active variety. 100% survival who can guarantee, more than 95% still have, I will send you a little more, after receiving there will still be so much survival rate. I raised it myself, and the cost of raising it myself will be a little higher, but I can guarantee the effect.

In 2017, Taobao issued a "Ban management announcement on wild fireflies" to sellers. "Although fireflies are not included in the list of relevant protected animals, over-capture can also pose an existential crisis for their populations," the announcement said. Therefore, Taobao will be wild body fireflies into the scope of prohibited commodity management, if the seller claims that it is an artificial breeding product, Taobao does not recognize it, as a wild product disposal. ”

However, the reporter searched on Taobao and found that live fireflies were still on public sale. Customer service introduction, live fireflies unit price of 1.3 yuan to 2.6 yuan range, the more the number of lower prices, the purchase of more than 2,000 to ensure 100% survival rate. The customer service also said that the fireflies sold are all artificially farmed, and the adults survive normally for 5 to 7 days and are shipped from Jiangxi.

For the business's statement, Li Xueyan, an associate researcher at the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that artificial breeding of fireflies can be achieved, but the technical difficulty and cost are relatively high.

Li Xueyan: According to our experience, we can't do it. If there is a large piece of land outdoors, and it is originally a place where fireflies breed, it is not impossible for farmers to protect this place, and it is not impossible to carry out artificial breeding. But if you farm indoors, the model of feeding birds like the birds that are bought in the flower and bird market is definitely not OK.

Li Xueyan said that as an ecological indicator species, fireflies are heavily and frequently commercialized to cause harm to them.

Li Xueyan: The reproduction rate of insects is relatively high, but if it continues year after year, the harm is very great. The firefly itself is an ecological indicator species, and it lives in a relatively good ecological environment, such as better water quality and better forest vegetation. If there are no fireflies anywhere, it means that the environment in this place is really not good.

Li Xueyan suggested that fireflies should be used protectively to meet people's ornamental needs without destroying the living and breeding environment of fireflies.

Li Xueyan: This thing should be used. For example, we recommend some forest parks, where fireflies can live in this environment. It is not to be taken to fly, but to be seen in this semi-artificial environment.