Overview
- An Assam Don Bosco University team led by Emma Magdalene Nonglang documented two new fireflies in the East Khasi Hills, naming them Diaphanes meghalayanus and Diaphanes mawlynnong, with D. mawlynnong first recorded in Mawlynnong village.
- The findings mark Meghalaya’s first formal scientific records of luminous insects after a long absence of published accounts or museum specimens.
- Researchers located the insects in undisturbed semi-evergreen forests and bamboo patches near rocky streams where human activity and artificial lighting are very low.
- Field notes show clear differences in behavior and habitat use, from D. meghalayanus males flashing soft green 10–15 meters above ground in cool, humid air to D. mawlynnong females glowing longer under rocks in denser canopy.
- The team called for broader taxonomic surveys across the state and warned that expanding light pollution can quickly shrink firefly populations.