Dark-winged Aquatic Firefly

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Nature Observer

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Latin Name	Observation Date	Location
*Asymmetricata circumdata*	April 30, 2026	Purulia, Natore, Bangladesh

On 30/04/2026, in the evening, I saw this insect on the wall of the Purulia Bazar Mosque. At first, I thought it was some other insect, but as I got closer, I saw the light flashing and going out, and I immediately realized that it was our very familiar firefly.

After seeing the firefly, many memories of my childhood came back to me. About 25 years ago, in our Purulia village, there were a lot of fireflies at night, it seemed like they had organized a fair. We used to catch fireflies with our friends and fill them in white glass bottles and enjoy the night light.

But now we don't see them like before. So it was quite nice to see the firefly. I had my mobile in my hand, and who knows if the pictures would come out well in the dark, so I turned on the camera flash and took a few pictures from very close up. After taking the pictures, I zoomed in and saw what a beautiful yellow light was coming out of its abdomen. If I had seen it during the day, I might not have noticed that this insect radiates such beautiful light in the darkness of the night.

Its body shell is black with a beautiful yellow border around it.

After uploading the pictures to the iNaturalist app back home, I saw that its English name is Dark-winged Aquatic Firefly.

I was initially surprised to see the word 'aquatic' in the name. I wondered how fireflies could be aquatic, since they can fly. Later, after browsing the internet and reading various articles including Wikipedia, I learned that these insects spend most of their lives (as babies or larvae) in ponds, canals, or damp mud. While in the mud, they eat small insects or snails. When they grow up, they fly into the sky, which we can see.