Fireflies in South East Asia: Species Diversity, Distribution, and Habitat (2015-2021)

Abstract

Fireflies are one of the most famous luminous insects that emit bioluminescence. The most famous fireflies in Southeast Asia are Pteroptyx , of the order Coleoptera and the Lampyridae family. This review paper combined the data on the species diversity and firefly distribution in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam published in 2015-2021. Some countries have limited data and no studies to identify firefly species and their habitat from 2015 to 2021; the data before 2015 was used. Furthermore, the lack of studies by Southeast Asian researchers regarding the richness of firefly species has been reviewed. Malaysian and Thailand researchers are among the forerunners in the study related to fireflies in the Southeast Asian region compared to other Southeast Asian countries. Lastly, not much is known about the display trees or habitat of fireflies in many areas such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. More studies are warranted to be conducted in the future on firefly species and their habitat.