Thursday night
of November 8, I had my recovery run inside Filinvest Corporate City
Alabang.
Joining me in this run was my
blogger friend, Mau, who is focused on
training for her first full marathon. This place is proving to be a
favorite among South-based runners due
to its tree-lined asphalt roads with
roving security guards. On that night, I found another thing that will attract
green-minded runners.
This is the
presence of fireflies (alitaptap in
Tagalog, aniniput in Rinconada) in
Filinvest. Yup, you heard me right.
There are fireflies in this premier
satellite city development in Muntinlupa.
Galloping down
the hill where Palms Country Club is nestled, we turned right on this small
road parallel to the South Corporate Avenue.
This dark road leads us near the entrance of the Research Institute for
Tropical Medicine (RITM). Along this
road are ipil ipil trees. And against
this backdrop of the dark grove before me dots of magical flashing light began to appear and move sideways, upwards and downwards. The fireflies or
lightning bugs, were out in the night
time air. For a moment, this amazing
sight transported me back to my childhood years in the rural barrio of San
Agustin in Iriga of Camarines Sur, back
to my fairy tale days when I believed the aniniputs to be fairies with tiny
lanterns guiding them thru the darkness to each other. Back to my youthful innocence.
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| Filinvest Corporate City Alabang Map |
Brief moment of nostalgia and back to scientific
reality. Fireflies are
classified under Lampyridae, a family of insects within the beetle order
Coleoptera, or winged beetles. The insects, whose yellow glow is a
product of protien intake and used as a mating call, live in unpolluted grass,
busges and hedges. While most fireflies
are characterized by their use of bioluminescence to attract mates and
communicate with others in their species, not all insects within the firefly
family produce light. Some communicate using pheromones, a sort of insect
perfume.
Scientists consider fireflies a sign of a
healthy ecosystem. I quote the factual brief from Clemson University (http://www.clemson.edu/public/rec/baruch/firefly_survey.html)
on this matter:
Fireflies
are charismatic and reliable indicators of environmental health because their
population density is correlated to the availability of healthy habitats
(Kazama et al., 2009). A good firefly habitat is one that is moist, contains
large amounts of natural organic matter (Wu and Perng, 2007). The habitat of
fireflies is significantly impacted by urban development. For example,
converting forested areas into open lawns, residential gardens, and
agricultural field can change the structure of suitable habitats (Kazama et
al., 2009; Juson et al., 2010). Indiscriminate use of insecticides in lawns and
urban areas can kill many non-target insects, including fireflies. Pollution
from commonly used chemicals (e.g., pesticides and fertilizer) and biological pollutants
(e.g., pet waste) could also alter the quality of the habitat (Lee et al.,
2008; Leong et al., 2007). Light can also be a source of pollution (Viviani et
al., 2010). Strong, bright light can outshine firefly flashing and interfere
with its mating behavior. All these factors work in concert to reduce the
quantity and quality of habitat, thus reducing the density of fireflies.
Therefore, the occurrence of firefly provides a visual clue on the quality of
the natural environments.
I look at the website of Filinvest (http://www.filinvestcorpcity.com/)
and its banner proudly proclaims – "Fast forward to the
present: Filinvest Corporate City has single-handedly revitalized the Alabang
area and transformed these 244 hectares into a premier satellite city and
central business district. This flagship development of Filinvest Alabang, Inc.
has indeed transformed the quality of life for all in the south."
Including the fireflies of the ipil ipil grove
for they will certainly agree with this
quality of life statement. They are
making a comeback in this small pocket of the urban jungle.
Life is proving to be resilient.
P.S.
I
hope the inspiring people behind the successful urban bike adventure that is
Tour of the Fireflies (http://www.fireflybrigade.org/)gets
to read about the fireflies in Filinvest. Some good news, specially with their 14th edition of the Tour
of the Fireflies coming up this November 18.
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