The Peruvian Glow Worm Is Something You Haven’t Seen Before

The Peruvian glow worm has become famous recently because of a video that has been around the internet. Although it’s a ½ inch worm, it is a very potent predator. Peruvian glow worm catches its prey by bursting out of the earth and grabbing the insects, usually ants and termites. It has very large claws and uses them to catch and kill the prey before eating it.

That’s not the only special feature of this tiny worm. The Peruvian glow worm also uses bioluminescence, which actually means that it glows in the dark, to attract insects and catch them.
Known as a strange and mysterious creature, the Peruvian glow worm is all that and some. It measures a little over ½ inches but it looks like something out of a B sci-fi horror movie. It glows in the dark, jumps out of the earth where it waits for its prey and catches it with its huge claws. The claws are not huge per se, they are huge compared to the worm’s body length.

This new species of insect was discovered in the Peruvian rain forest recently and the discovery made the scientists pretty excited. The insects the glow in the dark are still something new in the world of science and are still being studied. The main reason for their bioluminescent abilities is to attract prey, especially at night. Once the Peruvian glow worm lures its prey with the green light, it opens up its jaws and devours the insects.

Aaron Pomerantz, one of the scientists who has been studying insects in the Peruvian rainforest says that the insects’ ability to emanate bioluminescent light and catch its prey is like insects being drawn to lamps and light and night. The Peruvian glow worm has double features because he can also burst out of the earth to catch its prey.
Pomerantz wrote in a blog post about the Peruvian glow worm that:

“[These insects] fly right into their jaws, and then they’ll just clamp shut and that’s their meal. Sometimes, they’re underground, and they burst from the earth.”

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Christina Langfold

Remember that weird girl in school who never quite managed to fit in? Who was always silent and strange? That was me during my entire teenage life. A few years after finishing college (with a degree in arts) I decided that the best way to become more sociable, while also feeling safe, is to test my people skills online.