Discovered: the Stunning 'Glow Worm' of the Amazon

Imagine that you're a small insect fluttering or crawling around. It's particularly dark this night, but up ahead you notice the glow of a tiny light. You are drawn to it, and the welcoming light increases. And then, as you draw nearer, disaster strikes. The earth around that glow erupts to reveal the body of a large glowing worm. Terrible mandibles are the last thing you see before it's dark forever more.

That nightmare could be just another Friday night in the Amazon rainforest, where a mysterious glowing worm has been discovered to dwell.

Wildlife photographer Jeff Cremer first stumbled upon this strange predatory worm several years ago. He snapped a couple pictures, but after a little investigation, failed to identify the worm. Later, Cremer learned about the sub-Reddit "whatsthisbug," an online forum where entomologists and wildlife enthusiasts work together to identify insects.

He quickly posted the photos and was stunned to find that entomologists canvassing the Amazon stumbled upon a similar bioluminescent worm just last year. It was Identified as Alampoides alychnus - click beetle (Elateridae) larva, and detailed in a study published in association with the Museum of Zoology at the University of São Paulo. (Scroll to read on...)

However, Cremer wanted to be absolutely sure. That's when entomologist Aaron Pomerantz and his colleagues Mike Bentley and Geoff Gallice from the University of Florida contacted the photographer asking if he wanted to go back to find the worms once more.

This past October, the small team set out.

"These larvae may glow using a chemical known as luciferin, which is the same chemical found in many firefly species," Pomerantz later reported in a Rainforest Expeditions video.

"We noticed that the larvae are also able to control when they glow," the entomologist added, as the insects stopped glowing when disturbed or removed from their holes in the ground.

This indicates that the glowing of these insects could be used as a kind of lure - much like seen in the angler fish - in which the light draws in prey close enough to where they can be snatched up in the worm's impressive mandibles.

To test this theory, the team even dragged a stick and then a live ant across the hole where one of these glow worms resided. In both cases, the glowing creature lurched out of its hiding spot to drag its prey away.

"Yup," said Pomerantz, "they definitely appear to be predators."

You can find out more about the glowing worm, the expedition, and other bioluminescent species at the Rainforest Expeditions blog.