Get smart curated videos delivered to your inbox.   SUBSCRIBE
The Kid Should See This

Waitomo Glowworm Caves – Life in the Undergrowth

Watch more with these video collections:

What a beautiful trap! These glow worms make a sparkling net on the cave ceiling, perfect for catching flying insects, in this Sir David Attenborough-narrated clip from the BBC’s Planet Earth: Caves and/or Life in the Undergrowth. From Wikipedia

Arachnocampa is a genus of four fungus gnat species which are, in their larval stage, glow worms. They are found mostly in New Zealand and Australia in caves and grottos, or sheltered places in forests.

The larva spins a nest out of silk on the ceiling of the cave and then hangs down as many as 70 threads of silk (called snares) from around the nest, each up to 30 or 40 cm long and holding droplets of mucus…

The larva glows to attract prey into its threads, perhaps luring them into believing they are outdoors, for the roof of a cave covered with larva can look remarkably like a starry sky at night.

Related photos: Bioluminescent glow worms turn 30-million-year-old caves into alien skies and New Zealand’s Waitomo Glowworm Caves in 4K.

In the archives: more bioluminescence.

Updated video.

This Webby award-winning video collection exists to help teachers, librarians, and families spark kid wonder and curiosity. TKSST features smarter, more meaningful content than what's usually served up by YouTube's algorithms, and amplifies the creators who make that content.

Curated, kid-friendly, independently-published. Support this mission by becoming a sustaining member today.

🌈 Watch these videos next...

Worm grunting: How can thousands of worms be summoned from the earth?

Rion Nakaya

Worm Bin: 100-day time-lapse

Rion Nakaya

Vermicomposting: How worms can reduce our waste

Rion Nakaya

Vermicomposting with red wigglers, a time lapse

Rion Nakaya

Underwater fluorescence with Philippe Cousteau and BBC Oceans

Rion Nakaya

Underwater Caves of the Yucatán Peninsula, a Wonders of Life clip

Rion Nakaya

Under The Dock, a marine life series by Hakai Institute

Rion Nakaya

Trogloraptors & How Science Works – Cal Academy

Rion Nakaya

Troglobites: Strange Cave Specialists – Planet Earth

Rion Nakaya