Fireflies and their importance for forest care

fireflies

For people under the age of thirty or who simply were not raised in the country, the probability that they have seen a firefly in person throughout its life is short. These animals are very vulnerable to urbanization and anthropization of natural environments and to light pollution.

In general, all over the world,  deforestation and urban growth They threaten these fireflies that have brought more than two thousand species to near extinction. Do you want to know more about it?

Fireflies for humans

Since ancient times, these insects have been considered a small miracle of nature. For people who have grown up in the country, it brings back memories of hot summer nights in childhood. There are people who relate fireflies with romantic moments and settings. There are even English superstitions in which they say that if you kill a firefly you can seriously endanger your romantic relationship and some even claim that you could cause the death of your loved one.

Firefly

Perhaps it is true that these insects are overrated for their beauty and unique characteristic, but it is true, that like any other living being on the planet, fulfills its function in ecosystems. In addition, its protection and conservation can be of great help to be able to conserve forests. How can insects help conserve a forest?

The usefulness of fireflies

In Mexico, in the state of Tlaxcala, there is a town that, for years, survived from logging. The town is located about 70km from Mexico City. The town was poor and the only way to stay economically stable was through deforestation of the forests.

However, thanks to the attraction of these precious fireflies, it was seen a possible business in which many tourists they visited the town to observe the fireflies. The brightest fireflies are the females, which are larger and light up your abdomen thanks to a chemical reaction that occurs naturally in your body.

This tourism initiative took 11 years to succeed, but in 2011, Edged Stone, It has become an area of ​​more than 200 hectares that offers the ideal humidity and feeding conditions for fireflies to survive well and reproduce. In addition, the advantage that this type of tourist exploitation offers is that they no longer have to deforest the forests in order to obtain profits and proliferate economically.

Edged Stone

Town of Piedra Canteada

Today, the business is so fruitful that tourists intrigued by this phenomenon flock to the park in tents, caravans and lodgings in those areas and You fill them out weeks in advance. In order to preserve it well and to be able to exploit this business for more years, the visiting rules are very strict to avoid all possible impacts on fireflies and the environment in which they have to live. Access to the places where fireflies live is very limited in order to avoid contamination of their habitat and to be able to attend the dance of light in complete silence and darkness.

As I mentioned before, the tourist hit of the fireflies It has reduced deforestation in the Piedra Canteada areas by 70%. There are 42 families that are still engaged in deforestation, but no longer so intensive, but rather maintenance tasks and some profits from timber sales.

“We cut down, we live off the forest, cutting down trees, but in an orderly way,” affirm the families that exploit the wood.

To compensate for the deforestation caused over the years, another 50 thousand pines and firs are planted hoping to continue to attract and provide a good home to more and more fireflies. In this way the business would prosper and those insects could reproduce and move away from the danger of extinction. In addition, the advancement of this business greatly helps the conservation of forests and suitable habitats for the conservation of species.

fireflies dance

Fireflies dance

As a personal reflection, it is sad that we stop cutting down forests and destroying areas just because another tourist activity and exploitation gives us economic benefits. If the firefly didn't put on the shows it does, it probably wouldn't be an insect they were worrying about going extinct, and it was probably already extinct. We have to learn to value all species of flora and fauna on the planet, regardless of the economic benefits we obtain from them.


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  1.   Joseph Ribes-Garcia said

    Deforesting is not any occupation, nor any work, it is a consequence of Forestry, the science of the use and maintenance of forests.