I came home this evening to find a glowing green dot creeping across my kitchen floor. I turned on the light in time to see insect that looked like a caterpillar sized prawn moving in a caterpillar fashion across the linoleum. Of course, as soon as I turned on the light it started making a beeline towards a hole under the door jamb. Maybe it’s dead; I seized a glass and trapped it, and it’s not moving any more, so either it’s playing dead or I inadvertantly squashed it. It looks like a straightish prawn, with legs, and has two flourescent green dots on it’s tail, like a firefly’s.
I took some pictures but will have to clear all the ones on Flickr before I can post it. In the mean time, any ideas? Is it rare or dangerous (highly doubt the last if it’s playing possum)?
Glow-worm. You must live near forested/green areas.
It’s bioluminescence. Turn off the lights and you’ll begin to see the glow again.
Its the larval form of a species of firefly. Pretty cool to find one in your house.
Something like this? There are several species found here.
Or else you live too near a nuclear power station.
Sandman’s got the pic!
A quick google turned up “glow worm”, but there are indeed fireflies living nearby, so it could well be a larva. I’d just never seen one crawling like that before. NZ has glow worms, but they’re very different.
Thanks!
in a couple of the species in Taiwan, the adult looks like that too, especially the females. ( neoteny: maintenance of the larval form as an adult.)
Here iz ze pics, finally. Though you must be right, it’s either a glow worm or a larva firefly.
It lay flat on it’s back, stiff as a log. I think I must have killed it sticking it under a glass or something.
Told ya it looked like a shrimp!