Asked by Harry Blythe

Glowworms, a disparate nomenclature for a disparate collection of insects (none are actual worms) glow via a variety of different methods, but all emit light via bioluminescence. Bioluminescence is a naturally occurring form of chemiluminescence where energy is released by a chemical reaction in the form of light. For example, in phengodes glow is produced and emitted from giant solitary cells within the abdomen, while in arachnocampa it is emitted through modified excretory organs.

In addition, glowworm bioluminescent organs vary widely in size, location and structure, indicating that the different species’ glowing abilities evolved independently of one another. This is supported by the reasons for producing the glow, which range from attracting a mate through to warding off predators and luring prey into sticky webs for consumption, the latter characteristic of the platyura species.

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Time-lapse photography works by shooting a series of frames at a significantly slower rate than that which they will be played back. So for example, instead of shooting and displaying 24 frames for a single second of video playback – the speed at which film is projected at – time-lapse footage may record at a single frame an hour or even a day. However, despite there being maybe only 24 frames a day taken by the time-lapse camera, if they are projected back at 24 frames a second, what we see is what appears to be a smooth one second clip running in real-time. This is particularly handy for watching the movements of creatures such as the starfish and giant worms seen in this clip, which move at a rate which our 24 frame per second sight perceives naturally as super slow. With time-lapse photography however, we can watch these animals move in our-time, as many hours of movement can be reduced to a few seconds.