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"Now, the eggs are hatching," Wirat Sommit, an academic at Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, said yesterday. Wirat has researched fireflies for more than 12 years.

Lamprigera tenebrosa is the biggest firefly found among more than 100 species in Thailand. Over 50 of the species are unknown or not formally named.

Wirat described fireflies as an indicator of ecological abundance.

"You will find a lot of fireflies in an abundant forest. When the number of fireflies drop, it suggests that the forest is having some problems."

He said fireflies also feasted on land snails, which sometimes spread meningitis.