Interesting Nature

In Bali, fireflies are being saved through organic farming

In the village of Taro in Bali, Wayan Vardika founded the "Bring Back the Light" programme in 2020, Indonesia's only firefly conservation programme. According to Vardika, four decades ago clouds of fireflies could be seen over the village's rice fields, and today they have almost disappeared. The causes are construction, light pollution, habitat degradation and pesticides. Scientists spend up to two years raising larvae in special terrariums, and then release about 90 percent of the adults into the wild. The programme has already released almost 20,000 larvae and adult insects, and the local population is gradually recovering. Vardika is working with 35 neighbouring farmers to switch to chemical-free farming, and four have already done so.

Not covered in Armenian media (checked 11 November)