Summer night "spirits"

At Toucheng Farm, spring and summer nights are not only limited to BBQ or sky lanterns, there are fascinating light-emitting insects flying by the mountain side, waiting for you, - fireflies or glow worms!

A half hour break from your delicious BBQ corn-on-the cob or grilled chicken wings to watch this night "spirits" is indeed rewarding!
Toucheng Farm's fireflies, are the aquatic specie Luciola ficta olivier, which are very numerous here. They become an entertaining sight at this season of the year.

Why do they live here in abundance? Because here, the water is fresh, clean and clear. Besides, they feed on a snail which also live here and grows abundantly.

The presence of countless fireflies (or butterflies,etc.) in an area, is an indicator of the state of the environment.

To sustain their presence and life, we have to understand why they survive here and what eliminates them.
1st, their habitat: the fresh, and clean water of the Farm, plus the abundant snails.
2Nd: pesticides kills and diminish their numbers. Here in the Farm, no pesticides or chemical fertilizer are used.
3rd: no artificial lights in the mountain area, so as to attract more fireflies which makes them visible to tourists.

The warm and humid temperature of late spring and summer is the perfect time for watching these spectral luminescence insects.

Fireflies are interesting nocturnal objects, not only for children, but casts some spell to many photographers, artists, scientists or historians.
Rabindranath Tagore wrote "The fireflies, twinkling among the leaves, makes the stars wonder".
A vice chairman of the Firefly Conservation Association also wrote " They float like night spirits amid the darkness, rekindling a sense of wonder. Hopefully, they will always illuminate our evening skies with their enchanting beauty".

But a warning: The extinction of some creatures like fireflies in our environment, may eventually affect mankind's fate!

We can learn lessons from Toucheng Farm on how to conserve and protect our living environment.

Our website has pictures of the transformation of the life cycle of a firefly. The pictures I have taken are too dark nor too far to identify them to include in this blog, sorry.

Toucheng Farm is a member of the Hostelling Association of Taiwan and Hostelling International, the largest
network of quality, budget, hostel accommodation usually in an environmentally friendly atmosphere.
Surf the net www.tcfarm.com.tw/en/news/news.asp to get more information. or call 886 39 772222