✨✨✨🌃 Night Sky Mimicry ✨✨✨ 🌃

I have shared some really crazy examples of mimicry from the animal kingdom in the past months... But this one is probably the most...beautiful! And ok, I know it's not actual mimicry but that's the first thing that popped in my mind when I first heard about these critters on some random Reddit post a few days ago.

So..today's star is Arachnocampa luminosa. And when I say star, I am a bit literal, as these creatures look like the night sky in their natural environment!

Commonly known as the New Zealand glowworm or just glowworm, they are a species of fungus gnat (small flying insects) endemic to the caves of New Zealand.

Now, like you'd expect, these insects start their life as eggs. These eggs are deposited on the roof of a cave. Once they hatch, the puppae start building their nest out of silk. And once they finish the nest they start making long sticky threads of silk around it, essentially traps for unsuspecting prey.

The larva spins a nest out of silk on the ceiling of the cave and then hangs down up to 30 silk threads along which it regularly places small sticky droplets

And then it's show time! To attract the prey they start glowing...And the result is just...Beautiful:

source

source

Adults are also known to glow (although to a lesser extent) but why they do that is unknown. A theory is that it maybe be a part of a mating ritual or something. Or it could may as well be a leftover trait from the previous developmental stage, that serves no purpose.

Here's how they look like:

Arachnocampa luminosa adult source

Ugly if you ask me 😆. I'd expect something cutter from that beautiful night time show.

Anyways, feel free to visit Wikipedia if you'd like to learn more about these fascinating critters!

Or even better, check out this video:

Ok, I hope you enjoyed discovering yet another amazing creature with me! All I know is that I have a sudden urge to visit New Zealand 😂

More Strange Animal Stuff
If you enjoyed this post here are some more amazing creatures I have recently blogged about:

• A Mushroom Sprouting on a Frog
• The Glowing Millipede
• The dead leaf moth
• The "flies eating bird shit "-like moth
• The Ant-like Mantis
• The Moth That Mimics Jumping Spiders
• The Iron Snail
• The Snake with the Googly Eyes
• The Dead Leaf Butterfly
• The Snail Tank
• That's one epic goat
• Why These Butterflies Drink Turtle Tears
• The penguin that takes ten thousand naps..every single day
• Real life face hugger
• The bacterium that poops gold
• The Cocktupus
• The Electric Clam
• You will never guess what this jellyfish like creature actually is!
• Half Spider, Half Ant Thing
• The lizard that swims...in sand!
• The Skeleton Panda Squirt
• Cutest Anglerfish Ever!
• The Old From Texas

Posted Using InLeo Alpha