By MOOK Scenic Spots Home Travel Life Network Editorial Team
Besides summer, you can also enjoy the romantic sight of glowing lights in winter. The Daxue Mountain Forest Recreation Area spans three forest zones—warm, temperate, and cold—with rich biodiversity that nurtures a diverse population of fireflies, visible year-round.
Illustration of fireflies. (Image source / Alishan National Park)
The sunrise, sea of clouds, and red maple leaves in the Daxue Mountain Forest Recreation Area during autumn create a fairy-tale-like beautiful scene. (Image source / conservation.forest)
Most visitors assume that fireflies only appear in spring and summer, but Taiwan has actually recorded nine species of autumn and winter fireflies. Among them, eight species can be found in Daxue Mountain in winter. The light emitted by these seasonal fireflies tends to be cooler in tone, primarily green, often appearing as continuous glowing trails that form green light paths, transforming winter Daxue Mountain into a green-light forest—resembling Christmas lights—that welcomes Christmas and New Year’s.
Daxue Mountain glows with tiny lights. (Image source / Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan)
Daxue Mountain features many hidden maple-viewing forest trails, waiting for visitors to capture their beautiful scenery. (Image source / Dongshi Forest District Office)
The autumn and winter fireflies in the Daxue Mountain area are mainly dominated by the "Sacred Tree Firefly." Adult Sacred Tree Fireflies are nocturnal and emit a continuous green light. These high-altitude fireflies have been recorded glowing and active even at temperatures as low as 6°C. Male fireflies emit faint glowing trails, and in some areas, individuals may dim or briefly extinguish while glowing, making it difficult to track their flight paths. Female fireflies often glow on earthen embankments beside forest trails or clinging to tree branches to attract males for mating. Their glow is also notably brighter than that of the males.
Male Sacred Tree Firefly. (Image source / Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan)
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