So, what are glowworms?
Well, I'm sorry to dissapoint you guys, but, they're not worms. They're actually larvae of a large mosquito-like fly. (Sounds yucky isn't it??)
They live in caves or shady spots with high humidity, they hide themselves among these vertical threads. These threads are actually traps!! The threads are studded with sticky droplets of mucous.
Their bums light up to attract flying insects and when the insects fly closer, they got trapped in the threads... and become lunch... or dinner or breakfast... well, you got the point.
The hungrier they are, the brighter their bums are :-)These works exceptionally well in their colonies. So, everybody got some chances to attract food.
For example, larva A and larva B are hungry, after larva A got some food, its bum got less brighter. Meanwhile, larva B's bum gets brighter. Thus, the insects will fly towards larva B. When larva B finally got something to eat, his bum will become less brighter and the insects will fly to other hungry larvae. And so on... :-)
What makes their bums glow?
Good question... I can't imagine if my bum glows... I'll save electricity! But, I might have to run around naked at night... hihihi... I don't think the neighbours will like that...
Back to our lovely glowworms, the light is called, bioluminescence. It's blue-green light, very pretty by the way, they look like small LED lights. This light is produced by a chemical reaction between their waste product (their poop?) called luciferin + an enzyme luciferase + ATP (adenosine triphosphate) + oxygen. The output of this chemical reaction is the light and pure water. (Yes! Pure Water! Amazing isn't it...)
You know the standard light that comes from our lamps, they're hot aren't they? Well, glowworm's light is cool. :-) That's what makes these little guys so special. 99% light, 1% heat. Amazing...
These guys aren't the only ones with this bioluminiscence ability, there are fireflies, jellyfishes, deep sea fishes.
Scientists are now inspired by these creatures, they're researching for more efficient lighting system. They use their genes to detect diseases in cells for cancer research, etc.
Would it be cool if we have a glowing trees on the road side, so we don't need to have lamps on the road sides anymore?Maybe glowing christmas trees? :-) That would be fun...
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