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Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae), with more than 2000 species in 100 genera worldwide, are impressive diurnal as well as nocturnal species. Although popular in society largely because of their association with warm summer evenings in childhood, fireflies are an under-researched insect. Like numerous other insects worldwide, fireflies have experienced declines in distribution and abundance. A strong direct influence on their development, reproduction, and survival is most likely influenced by anthropogenic impacts and climate change. There are currently 64 known species of fireflies in continental Europe. Three species have been described in Croatia, the common firefly, Lampyris noctiluca (Linnaeus, 1767), L. zenkeri Germar, 1817 and L. lusitanica Motschulsky, 1854. However, no empirical data are available, as no official surveys have been published for any of the above species. Collection and taxonomic information for Croatian Lamypirds is published in local journals in German or Croatian, so access to this information was not readily available until recently. Furthermore, experts from European Lampyridae have only recently gained access to these collections and reviewed them for accuracy according to current taxonomic standards and naming conventions (R. De Cock pers. comm.). The project called "Krešo krijesnica" (Eng: Krešo the firefly), used the Citizen Science Campaign (CSC), to determine whether the decline of fireflies in Croatia is real. CSC is the participation of the general public in scientific data collection on a specific topic with a specific goal or purpose. During the first phase of the project (2019 - 2021), the data on fireflies were provided by citizen scientists through a formal survey on Facebook, Instagram and email, based on sightings and records of date, location, and number of individuals and associated lampyrid data (pictures and videos). Phase two involved species identification in order to revise the available biodiversity data in Croatia. Phase three aims to open the fireflies datasets to the public through various open data sources such as MINGOR for reuse as well as to automate the process of data collection using mobile apps. As principles of open data are being introduced into Croatian scientific community and public government, this presents an opportunity for increasing the availability and reuse of occurrence data of fireflies. In 2019, over 1, 200 records with 10, 421 fireflies and over 470 photos were collected from all over Croatia. 243 specimens were successfully identified, demonstrating the presence of a fourth species, Lampyris germariensis Jacquelin Du Val, 1860, in Croatia. In 2020, the number of sightings was lower due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but 524 records were collected counting 5, 369 fireflies. Reports from 2021 are still in progress. The reports were sorted by locations in five regions of Croatia, which gave an insight into the density of the firefly population. Descriptive statistics on data sources was used. The highest firefly population density is reported in central Croatia, which is consistent with the number of people living in this area. Due to the decline in firefly populations in recent years, this dataset presents a valuable source of information to the scientific community, especially in the field of entomology, conservation biology and ecology but also to government policy makers in Croatia that have the influence and opportunity to increase the protection status of fireflies based on scientific research. Making this data available in open and machine-readable formats would certainly increase reusability of this data and in the end help us protect and restore firefly diversity in Croatia. |
