The Firefly Restoration Project on the National Taiwan University Campus –Releasing the Larvae of Aquatica ficta into the Wild

The campus of the National Taiwan University is an ecological treasure trove, a rare urban oasis in the Taipei City. Following the release of river snails into the wild at the end of August 2021, as a food source for fireflies, the restoration of aquatic fireflies was implemented. The University President, Dr. Chung-Ming Kuan 管中閔, together with the Taipei Zoo Deputy Director Lucia Ju朱孝芬and others, released firefly larvae donated by the Zoo into the ditches of the Crop Specimen Garden in the National Taiwan University Experimental Farm on December 22. They hoped to see the twinkle of fireflies on campus in spring evenings next April.

The National Taiwan University alumni participating in the "50th Reunion" donated to their alma mater to fund the restoration project. Jointly implemented by the campus planning team and the National Taiwan University Experimental Farm, the project sought to enhance biodiversity and the environmental quality on campus. The base for firefly restoration would be the Crop Specimen Garden in the National Taiwan University Experimental Farm. A clean natural environment by the waters had been constructed. In August 2021, river snails were released into the wild, as a food source for firefly larvae. After creating, maintaining and managing the ecosphere for nearly 4 months, the time had come for the release of the larvae of Aquatica ficta into the wild.

President Kuan said that with an increasing degree of urbanization, fireflies were rarely seen in cities. He thanked the National Taiwan University alumni who graduated in 1966, for their enthusiasm in donating to the fund for the restoration project, and the Taipei Zoo for generously donating 1,200 larvae of Aquatica ficta. Various units in the National Taiwan University joined together in an effort to contribute to a sustainable ecological environment. Environmental sustainability has become a universal value for all humanity, and biodiversity would be an important part of achieving it. He hoped that with such collaboration, we would see a different scenery in the future, with countless fireflies twinkling in the twilight on the fields in the University Experimental Farm, in addition to collared scops owls (Otus lettia), Malayan night herons (Gorsachius melanolophus), crested goshawks (Accipiter trivirgatus formosae), Taiwan barbets (Megalaima nuchalis), and red-bellied squirrels (Callosciurus erythraeus) often seen on campus.

Lucia Ju, deputy director of the Taipei Zoo, said that the zoo was fortunate to be located in the foothills, where fireflies would still be distributed. Fireflies had been raised and propagated for over two decades in the insectarium with stable populations. Aquatica ficta could reproduce 2 generations a year in the wild, and even 3 generations in captivity. The Zoo was honored to participate in the firefly restoration project on the campus of the National Taiwan University. She hoped that through releasing Aquatica ficta larvae into the wild, the event would call the attention of students to the ecological environment on campus, and would deepen the connection between green infrastructure and public space in general, so that we could integrate nature with the building of an eco-city.

The firefly restoration project was implemented in 3 stages on the National Taiwan University Experimental Farm. For the first step, the experts from the Department of Entomology, the Department of Horticulture and the Experimental Farm joined together in an effort to create a clean natural environment by the waters, a suitable habitat for Aquatica ficta larvae. For the second step, river snails were released into the wild, in order to develop a food chain and a food source for fireflies. For the third step, firefly larvae were released into the wild, in the hope of seeing fireflies dancing like twinkling stars with the arrival of the spring, in the coming April 2022.

Further Information:
EBC News: The National Taiwan University Firefly Restoration Project: Releasing 1,200 Aquatica ficta Firefly Larvae into the Wild