Has anybody ever tried to build an exhibit for live fireflies? It seems like this could be a very popular exhibit for the parts of the world where these species do not occur. Given their seasonal occurrence perhaps maintaining them in captivity is not possible.
I think it's possible and I'd actually enjoy seeing fireflies in a zoo. I did find this: ScienceDirect.com - Der Zoologische Garten - Breeding fireflies at Tama Zoo: An ecological approach ~Thylo
As Stacey said it would be difficult and even though the species may be a popular attraction I don't think zoos would focus much on them since there are much more endangered species to worry about. Also, remember the animals would have to be exhibited in the dark. ~Thylo
Night Safari Singapore has been breeding and displaying small numbers of fireflies (a native species) on and off over the past decade. Husbandry is very difficult as the larvae feed only on a particular type of aquatic snail. The larvae have to be kept separate to prevent cannibalization and it takes up to half a year for the larvae to reach adulthood. The adult beetles live only about 2 weeks. It is simply too much effort and Night Safari is doing it primarily for a release-to-the-wild project, while keeping very small numbers for occasional display.
The Tama Zoo -Tokyo - Japan has / had them in their 'Insect Ecological Land' an enormus insectarium. They are/were kept at a temperture of 14 Degrese Celsius at an humidity of at least 95 %. I;m not aware of the species kept in Tama and also other information like breeding-results, longivity etc are unknown to me. Hope however this helps a little bit.
No problem. I wasn't going to point it out but the article had some of the answers you asked so I thought it'd be helpful. ~Thylo
I'm sure there is way to keep and breed them in captivity, but since the main reason people are interested in fireflies is their lighting rather than the animals themselves, the general public would probably be satisfied with the cheaper option of a simple setup using small blinking lights.
I would love to see them sometime, either in a zoo or in the wild. Having grown up in Los Angeles, I have fond memories of the opening swamp in Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland) with the fake fireflies. Also, my favorite photograph of all time is this one by Florida photographer John Moran featuring fireflies over a natural spring at night. (Still not sure how he achieved that lighting, but it is incredible). John Moran Florida Nature Photography / Events
Thanks for the information everybody. From the data it looks like live fireflies can be kept under very demanding husbandry conditions that don't lend themselves readily to exhibition of the species. I have the same fond memories of the Disney faux-fireflies. Real fireflies are a major, magical experience that west-coasters miss out on unless they head east at the correct time of year. I saw a community college in the Washington DC area lit up by fireflies on a June evening. It was spectacular.
Another hurdle may be agricultural laws - California is pretty strict. And, while they may be difficult to keep in captivity, I wonder how many places have actually tried in earnest? Maybe part of the reason is the attempt to keep them in a terrarium type enclosure as opposed to a large "free flight" indoor open exhibit, such as butterflies are kept. Like an indoor nocturnal swamp exhibit?... how cool would that be?
That's a great idea! Still raising the young would be a problem and the adults don't live very long so you'd have to have some other critters in the exhibits or else it would be a cool looking room with nothing in it when the adults die. ~Thylo
That's the idea - The fireflies are seasonal, much like butterfly exhibits or spiders. Then you have a regular spike in attendance when it's firefly time!
I still think it'd be cool to have other exhibits in there. Maybe you should make an exhibit like that on the http://www.zoochat.com/1812/design-zoo-157545/ thread (or maybe I will). If not, you can post it on the http://www.zoochat.com/1812/design-exhibit-288797/ thread instead. ~Thylo
I've thought this through a while ago - a nocturnal Southern swamp exhibit with alligators, bullfrogs, mink, raccoon's, owls... you enter in through a tapper's cabin with small animal exhibits, exit out the back porch along a wooden walkway above water on either side. Bullfrogs, turtles on one side and alligators on the other. Fireflies free flying. Red headlights are handed out to view animals without disturbing them and collected at the exit.
