Arachnocampa luminosa

Arachnocampa luminosa
Glowworm (Arachnocampa luminosa) and silk snares
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Keroplatidae
Genus: Arachnocampa
Species:
A. luminosa
Binomial name
Arachnocampa luminosa
(Skuse, 1891)
Synonyms
  • Bolitophila luminosa[1]

Arachnocampa luminosa (Skuse, 1891), commonly known as New Zealand glowworm or simply glowworm, is a species of fungus gnat endemic to New Zealand. The larval stage and the imago produce a blue-green bioluminescence.[2] The species is known to dwell in caves and on sheltered banks in native bush where humidity is high.[3] Its Māori name is titiwai, meaning "projected over water".[citation needed]

The first written record of the species dates from 1871 when it was collected from a gold mine in New Zealand's Thames region. At first it was thought to be related to the European glowworm beetle (Lampyris noctiluca) but, in 1886, a Christchurch teacher showed it was a larva of a gnat, not a beetle.[2] The species was first formally described in 1891 with the species name Bolitiphila luminosa and was assigned to the family Mycetophilidae.[4] In 1924, it was placed within a new genus of its own, Arachnocampa, because the wing venation of the adults and the behaviour of the larvae differed significantly from other Bolitophila fly species.

  1. ^ Gatenby, J. Bronte (May 1960). "The New Zealand Glow-Worm". Tuatara: Journal of the Biological Society. 8 (2): 86–92. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b Richards, A. M. (1960). "Observations on the New Zealand Glow-worm "Arachnocampa luminosa" (Skuse) 1890". Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 88: 559–574.
  3. ^ Meyrick, E. (1886). "A luminous insect larva in New Zealand". The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine. 22: 266–267.
  4. ^ Skuse, F A A (1891). "Description of a luminous dipterous insect (fam. Mycetophilidae), from New Zealand". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 5: 677–679. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.18661. ISSN 0370-047X.