Fireflies, conservation, and our natural heritage

Her love for fireflies began in 2006 in Perak, Malaysia, when she saw fireflies blinking amidst a mangrove forest while working on an undergraduate final-year project. “When I stand among fireflies, I feel like I am in a different world – a magical world of hope and love… I would like to know more about them,” said Dr Wan Faridah Akmal Jusoh, Research Fellow and taxonomist at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum at NUS.

In March 2021, Dr Wan Faridah and a team of researchers reported the discovery of a new firefly species which they named Luciola singapura. This is the first such discovery in Singapore in over a century.

Dr Wan Faridah is also steering a large-scale virtual repatriation project to build a database of digital images and catalogues detailing original specimens in museums around the country and across Southeast Asia. Through this digital collection, she hopes to accelerate research efforts into Singapore’s fauna.

Read here to find out about Dr Wan Faridah work in championing the conservation of Singapore’s biodiversity.