By TOSHIYUKI TAKEYA/ Staff Writer
July 3, 2020 at 07:00 JST
Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.
Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.
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About 250 “genji-botaru” fireflies mesmerized online spectators as they flitted about inside a dark acrylic cube roughly two meters a side.
Their unwitting but majestic performance was held at the Adachi Park of Living Things in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward in early June.
The park has hosted the firefly viewing event for more than 20 years. But for the first time, the fantastical world of light was streamed live online this year to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“I hope people watch how fireflies glow with heart and soul and think about nature and the preciousness of life,” said Tatsuo Konuma, a commentator at the park.
Genji-botaru fireflies are about 10 to 16 millimeters long. Larvae are carnivorous and eat freshwater snails, but adults only drink water. Adults can live only about a week in their natural environment.
Genji-botaru fireflies are bigger than “heike-botaru” and “hime-botaru” fireflies, and they emit more intense light than the other two.
Firefly eggs also glow.
Fireflies are said to flash their light to attract a mate, as well as use it to send signals and warnings.
According to Konuma, genji-botaru fireflies flash every two seconds in western Japan, while they flash every four seconds in eastern Japan. One theory behind that is the firefly habitats were divided into the two regions by a mountain range near Shizuoka Prefecture, depriving them of interactions with each other.
The magic behind their glow is a chemical reaction involving the substrate luciferin, the enzyme luciferase and other substances in the insects’ light-emitting organs. The process produces little to no heat.
The same process was used to develop the popular glow sticks you commonly see at nighttime events and on other occasions.
You can watch the fireflies from the event dance at (http://t.asahi.com/wgaw).
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