Malaysia's Biggest Firefly Colony

Here the locals call them "klik-kliks".
That makes more sense to me because whoever called them Fireflies had a good sense of humour but not a good command of English.
They are not on fire and they are not flies.

Anyway, until recently, the firefly colony near Tanjung Tuan in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia was the nations second biggest firefly colony.

Aaaah, I hear you ask, "what happened to the previous biggest?"
Well, if you insist, I'll tell you, with the disclaimer that I haven't seen the previous biggest for a few years and I can't personally vouch for the truth of this report in one of the nation's daily newspapers BUT ----

It is reported that the firefly colony at Kuala Selangor, about 100km north of Kuala Lumpur has been all but destroyed, mainly by the local fisherman who needed the mangrove area where the fireflies were congregating, to moor their boats and to extend the jetty.
Not their fault was it?
Nobody ever tried to do anything to protect or develop the colony or to make a few $ (ringgit) by creating a tourist industry for the benefit of the locals.

So now, our state's favourite beach destination (Port Dickson) is the proud home of the biggest - not the second biggest.

Guess what !!??
Yeh, you guessed right.
I don't have to tell you that nobody in this state's decision-making politicians or public servants (I use that term loosely), seem to be prepared to do anything to stop a repeat of history.

I have personally met with a number of the local Malays and orang asli (aborigine) people in the area and they were VERY supportive of our crusade to help protect and develop the colony.
They know full well of its potential but warned me of the apathy that I might (ha!!) experience when discussing the issue with our illustrious politicians and public servants.

9 months after much discussion, presentations, high level meetings etc, we are still hoping and praying that one day, somebody will care enough to do something.
In the meantime, a multi-million $ tourist industry awaits somebody awakening from their perpetual slumber.

If or when it happens, the locals will be even happier than either me or the fireflies.
They are highly aware and very keen to draw attention to this beautiful resource while simultaneously, recognising the delicate environment that is necessary.
I venture to say that these people know more about their little klik-kliks than anyone else on the planet.

Hang in there guys, the cavalry's coming.
I hope.

In the meantime, you might find some lovely books on Fireflies, how they live, why they "klik-klik" all the time and what sort of habitat they like.
These sorts of books are best found on Amazon.com