Arachnocampa richardsae
Glow-worms
Greater Sydney / Blue Mountains
NSW, Australia
Glow-worms are insects having a bioluminescent larval stage.
The roof of a cave / overhang covered with glow-worms can look remarkably like a blue starry night sky ... due to the collective bioluminescent glow from the larvae.
The larva hangs down sticky silk threads from the ceiling of a cave. The glow from its head attracts prey and ensnare them in the threads.
Generally glow-worms have few predators.
Their greatest danger is from human interference.
More details are in wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachnocampa
Photos/videos here are from my trips:
- 2024-Jun-08 Night walk
Birdwood Gully, Springwood, NSW
Detailed trip report:
https://mntviews.blogspot.com/2024/06/birdwood-gully-blue-mountains-nsw.html
- 2024-Mar-07 Night walk
Birdwood Gully, Springwood, NSW
- 2023-Dec-16 Abseil & swims at night
Grand Canyon, Blackheath, NSW
- 2020-Jul-11 Bushwalk
Glowworm Tunnel, Gardens of Stone NP, NSW
1) Video: Glow-worm moving in UV light.
- Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
- Note: Slightly clearer videos are in:
YouTube: https://youtube.com/shorts/qHG3q9e_F48
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4Q9FUZCOUK/
Video by: John Graham
2) Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: John Graham
3) Location: Grand Canyon, Blackheath
Photographer: John Graham
4) Location: Glowworm Tunnel, Gardens of Stone NP
Photographer: Yours Truly 😊
5) Location: Grand Canyon, Blackheath
Photographer: John Graham
6) Location: Grand Canyon, Blackheath
Photographer: John Graham
7) Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: John Graham
8) Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: John Graham
9) Sticky silk threads hanging down from ceiling.
Location: Grand Canyon, Blackheath
Photographer: John Graham
10) Sticky silk threads hanging down from ceiling.
Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: John Graham
11) Sticky silk threads hanging down from ceiling.
Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: Melody Guo
12) Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: Elizabeth Zhu
13) Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: Elizabeth Zhu
14) Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: John Graham
15) Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: John Graham
16) Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: John Graham
17) A glow-worm and its sticky silk threads.
Under ultra-violet & red lights combination, they show up nicely.
Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: Yours Truly 😊
Detailed report on the 2024-June-08 trip, to see the glow-worms, is in this link:
https://mntviews.blogspot.com/2024/06/birdwood-gully-blue-mountains-nsw.html
Please visit my main page at https://mntviews.blogspot.com/
