What are glow-worms

Glow-worms are the larvae (immature stage) of a small fly. The larval stage is the only stage in their life cycle that can glow. The adults are delicate flies that do not have working mouthparts, and as such, only live for a small number of days (females two days, males six days). As the adults are unable to feed, glow-worms must gain enough sustenance during the larval stage to get them through the rest of their lifecycle. The larvae are believed to live for approximately one year, although this is heavily dependant on environmental conditions and prey abundance.

Why do glow-worms glow?

Glow-worms glow to attract small insects that emerge from the leaf litter and water the glow-worms reside. The glow-worms construct "snares" (like a spider's web) made from silk threads and sticky droplets to capture and eat the insects attracted to their glow, which they then feed on.

The common name glow-worm

Many organisms fall under the same common-name glow-worm. For example, many marine organisms can glow, as do firefly larvae and adults (which are actually beetles!) and even real earthworms!

The chemicals needed to generate the glow are all produced within the body of the glow-worm and the light is projected out of the very rear end of the larva (refer to the poem!). The light produced is reportedly 99% light and only 1% heat, making it an extremely efficient source of light!