Fireflies (Family Lampyridae) are small to medium sized beetles known for their

bioluminescence which it used as warning display and sexual attraction for mating (Oba et al.
2010). Lampyridae has 83 genera with about 2200 species in the world that could be found under
four subfamilies: Psilocladinae, Lampyrinae, Luciolinae, Photurinae occurring worldwide with
higher species diversity in the Oriental and Neotropical regions (Branham 2010, Hoffmann 2015).
It is known as “alitaptap” in Filipino and is a great factor for ecotourism popular in several places
in the Philippines such as Sicsican and Iwahig River in Palawan, Donsol and Ogod River in
Sorsogon, Loboc River and Maribojoc in Bohol, Sibuyan Island of Romblon and Hambilica
Ecolodge in Siquijor (Faust 2017, De Leon 2017). Some of the species found in the Philippines Commented [KMDA1]: The Best Places for Firefly-
Watching in the Philippines
are Pteroptyx macdermotti, Pygoluciola satoi, Pyrophanes spp., and Luciola spp. (Ballantyne How about some real-life fairy lights?
By Tynne De Leon | November 2, 2017
2010). Despite the popularity of firefly watching in the Philippines, there is very little information https://windowseat.ph/firefly-watching-philippines/
about the several different species of fireflies. Across the world, firefly populations are on a decline Accessed February 26, 2019

due to habitat degradation, water pollution, and light pollution (Faust 2017).

REFERENCES:

Ballantyne L. 2010. A manual on identification and taxonomy of South East Asia fireflies of the
subfamily Luciolinae. Firefly Workshop Part 2. URL:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284179362_A_manual_on_identification_and_taxono
my_of_South_East_Asian_fireflies_of_the_subfamily_Luciolinae_Part_2.

Branham, M.A. 2010. Lampyridae. In R.G. Beutel & R.A.B. Leschen, (eds. Handbuch der
Zoologie, Band IV Arthropoda: Insecta, Teilband 39, Evolution and Systematics. Waltyer de
Gruyter, Berlin. p. 141-147.

De Leon, T. 2017. The Best Places for Firefly-Watching in the Philippines: How about some real-
life fairy lights? [Accessed 2019 February 26]. URL: https://windowseat.ph/firefly-watching-
philippines.

Faust LF. 2017. Fireflies, Glow-worms, and Lightning Bugs. Georgia: University of Georgia Press.