58 Nebraskaland • January-February 2022
THE LAST STOP
By Eric Fowler
GLOW WORM
Last July, while walking out to turn off the water
before I hit the sack one night, I had one of those "What
the …?" moments.
There was something glowing in a flower bed next
to my house. The fireflies were out, but this looked
different. So I went back inside to grab a flashlight, and
when I returned, I found something I had never seen
before: a glow worm.
Under the light, the inch-long worm was a yellowish
tan with brown spots. Turn out the light and the
bioluminescent stripes on its back and spots on its sides
glowed as green as a lightning bug's butt.
After photographing it in both the light and dark the
following day in the studio at the office, I passed it on to
Shaun Dunn, a natural heritage zoologist and resident
insect expert at Game and Parks. Dunn determined it
was a female in the genus Phengodes, in the glowworm
family (Phengodidae) of beetles, but couldn't determine
the species, of which there are 23 in the United States
and Canada.
They aren't commonly seen, Dunn learned. Even as
adults, the females are always in the larval form and
look like a worm. "I use that term loosely, as they are not
worms," Dunn said. The males morph from a worm into
a beetle as an adult. While the females always glow, the
males only glow as larvae. Evidence suggests the larvae
can turn their glowing on and off, and it is thought that
the glow is used to warn off predators, unlike fireflies,
which glow to attract mates.
I got the same "What the …?" reaction from others
with whom I shared the glow worm photos. Personally,
I was wishing I could have found a few dozen of them.
I can't help but think they would be a can't-miss bait
while night fishing for crappies and bluegills. Maybe
next year.
In the meantime, I'll just have to be happy to have
learned something new. That, for anyone and especially
me, isn't hard to do if you pay attention.
