When the black of the South American night descends on the floor of the Amazon rainforest, select patches of earth begin to glow green. Nature photographer Jeff Cremer recently happened upon the rare entomological phenomenon while exploring Peru, and was quick to hone in on the creepy crawlies with his camera.
It turns out the glowing green dots were the larvae of an as yet unidentified species of clicking beetle. The wormlike beetle larvae use their neon green bioluminescence to attract prey -- luring ants, termites and stick bugs for an easy meal. The duped insects walk right into the worm's jaws, much the way moths fly into the outside of streetlamp.
Predatory bioluminescent worms? An amazing discovery in Tambopata Peru! http://t.co/Dbqedntwsa via @PeruNature pic.twitter.com/kRDdTDs21f— Amazon Aid (@AmazonAidF) November 20, 2014
The larvae's eery glow is caused by a luciferin, the chemical compound also found in fireflies and other bioluminescent insects. When these nighttime predators grow up and become beetles, they lose their glow and their edge -- becoming peace-loving plant eaters instead of devourers of easily duped prey.
"It's not often you see a wall full of glowing predators," Aaron Pomerantz, an entomologist at the Tambopata Research Center in Peru, told Wired.
Scientists have identified more than 10,000 species of clicking beetles, which make a clicking sound as they pop themselves into the air in order to escape predators or right themselves when they become stuck on their backs. Only 200 of the species have been found to possess bioluminescence in their larval stage. Glowing worms similar to those photographed by Cremer have previously been observed in Brazil.
Pomerantz is currently working with a team of scientists to determine whether or not the glowing larvae are representative of a new species of clicking beetle. "If we can't figure out what these are based on photos and their larval morphology, then I'll definitely follow up with molecular studies," he added.