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Let it glow: A look at naturally glowing plants and animals

Scientifically speaking, bioluminescence — the giving off of light from a living organism — is a reaction caused from combinations of chemicals. But it’s so much more: It’s a wild light show in nature.

Check out these naturally glowing plants and animals.

Team Firefly

Fire Flies

Fireflies, the most common bioluminescent creatures, use their lights to search for love. Throughout the Central and Eastern U.S., fireflies light up summer nights. Each June, you can see thousands of synchronized fireflies flashing together at the Great Smoky Mountains’ Elkmont Campground.

Warning Light

motyxia millipede

When the Motyxia millipede, the manylegged creature of California’s Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, gives off its eerie greenish-blue light, it’s a warning. Predators such as mice that are hungry for an evening snack will get cyanide poisoning if they dare to dine on these insects.

Glowing Down Under

Glow Worms

Glowworms (scientifically, Arachnocampa luminosa) are found only in New Zealand and can be seen hanging by the thousands in the 30-million-year-old Waitomo Caves. They lure prey such as flies and millipedes into what appear to be long, lighted fishing lines.

Bioluminescent Bay

Mosquito Bay Puerto Rico

The water glows at night! In Mosquito Bay off twhe coast of Vieques, Puerto Rico, millions of half-plant and half-animal organisms called dinoflagellates (a type of plankton) light up the night. Whenever their water habitat is disturbed, they give off a blue glow. There are as many as 720,000 of the organisms per gallon of water.

Glowing Jelly

Crystal Jellyfish

Crystal jellyfish are found in the Pacific Ocean off the U.S. West Coast, from Puget Sound in Washington to San Diego Bay in California. They flash blue lights and sometimes turn green, too.

Glowing Down Deep

Loosejaw Dragonfish

At least 1,600 feet below the ocean surface you’ll find the loosejaw dragonfish. This creepy predator sports huge fangs, and its body features red, blue and green “lights.” The red one shines like a flashlight on the dragonfish’s food, mainly krill and shrimp.

Enchanted Mushrooms

glowing-mushrooms-foxfire

There are 71 known species of glowing mushrooms, the brightest of which (Agaricus gardneri ) grows in Brazil’s state of Piauí. In the United States, you can find foxfire in the autumn woods. Benjamin Franklin suggested using it to light one of the first submarines.

Crazy Coral

Bloody Bay Coral Cayman Islands

No one knows exactly why the coral of the Cayman Islands’ Bloody Bay Wall give off light. Some say the light screens out ultraviolet rays from the sun. Others say it attracts prey.

Check out the glowing coral of Bloody Bay Wall

World’s Most Humongous Fungus

honey mushroom - fungus

In Oregon’s Malheur National Forest, the giant, tree-consuming Armillaria solidipes fungus — better known as the honey mushroom — now covers 2,200 acres. Most of that’s underground. Its mushroom caps light up the forest with a greenish hue. Scientists estimate the organism is at least 2,400 years old.

20 Comments on Let it glow: A look at naturally glowing plants and animals

  1. I didn’t know PLANKTON glowed in the dark?!

  2. Jeff the ultimate science boi // April 16, 2020 at 7:08 pm // Reply

    Quite interesting

  3. bob the tomato // March 26, 2020 at 9:40 am // Reply

    oh my word, i think i found by berries

  4. Animals or plants that glow in the dark

  5. Reasearch animals or plants that glow in the dark. Find out how and why they glow

  6. Are there glowing plants that naturally occur in the wild?

  7. useful ful for my child . And sub to PEWDIEPIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  8. So cool! I didn’t know there were mushrooms that glow

  9. Darkmayhem23 // October 10, 2018 at 4:35 am // Reply

    i awesome

  10. Darkmayhem23 // October 10, 2018 at 4:34 am // Reply

    fishies were awesome

  11. Tomatoe

  12. I am a potatoe

  13. Ayan and Logan // February 21, 2018 at 11:35 am // Reply

    The deep down are ugly but the enchated mumshroom are just weird

  14. Wow interesting and much more to learn

  15. good

  16. cool article!

  17. Interesting glowing things.

  18. I LOVE boyslife!!!

  19. Billybob joe // January 27, 2015 at 6:56 pm // Reply

    Really really cool!

  20. Fascinating.

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