← back to grid
New Zealand Glow-worm

rare

New Zealand Glow-worm

Arachnocampa luminosa

Habitat
Damp cave ceilings and forest banks in New Zealand
Body length
30 mm
Order
Diptera · Keroplatidae

Weird but real

Not a worm. Larva of a fungus gnat. Dangles 30cm strands of sticky beads from cave ceilings and glows blue-green to lure flies into them.

Why it's cool

The famous starry cave ceilings of Waitomo are this. Every glowing dot is a maggot fishing with a glowing chandelier. Sublime and gross at once.

Photographs

New Zealand Glowworm (Arachnocampa luminosa) in New Zealand
Uwe Schneehagen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
New Zealand Glowworm (Arachnocampa luminosa) in New Zealand
Alan Rockefeller · CC BY 4.0 · source