Breeding fireflies at Tama Zoo: An ecological approach

Techniques to breed the Genji firefly, Luciola cruciata, a lampyrid (firefly) native to Japan, we developed at Tama Zoo, Tokyo. In order to determine captive husbandry procedures, the staff made close observations on the life cycle of this species in nature. It took more than a decade to establish the breathing program in an outdoor water channel at the Tama Zoo. Patterned after a freshwater ecosystem, the channel system enables the insect to undergo the simulated “food-chains” cycle for completing the metamorphic process. Captive-reared larvae, also known as “glowworms”, and knowledge on husbandry have been utilized to reintroduce the species in its former natural ranges.