A Night of Blue and Green Bioluminescence in Momorangi Bay
Blue glowworms and a new discovery - Mycena podocarpi producing bioluminescent mycelium.
Last week, I camped at Momorangi Bay between Havelock and Picton in New Zealand’s Marlborough Region. Just behind my campsite was a sign: “Glow Worms.” And short trails led into fern and podocarp forest, so at night, I set out to photograph them.
I’ve photographed glowworms before, but this time I wanted to try getting some close-up videos instead.
These aren’t actually worms, but the larval stage of a fungus gnat (Arachnocampa luminosa), which is more closely related to flies. They spend most of their ~9-month larval life glowing (adults don’t glow at all).
Unlike most bioluminescent organisms, which glow yellow-green, these ones emit a bright blue light (likely evolved to lure prey in pitch-black conditions). They hang sticky silk “fishing lines” to trap insects attracted by their glow, and the more hungry they are, the brighter they shine!
It’s quite a sight to witness the entire side of the track dotted with blue glowing stars!
Earlier that day, I came across tiny maroon mushrooms (Mycena podocarpi).
The red marginated gills and stipe texture reminded me of similar glowing mushrooms I’d find in Malaysia. So, based on this hunch, I experimented with long-exposure photography.
Excited to find the hunch was confirmed, I captured the green-glowing mycelium on a piece of wood that had broken off from the main log.
Fungi glow green (~520nm wavelength), the result of their own distinct chemical reactions. So basically, nature’s subtle color-coding: blue for worms, green for fungi.
I got an idea then to shoot the two together.
While the rotten log only had a couple of small spots that displayed the green glow, I felt the softness of the outside, likely porous from tunnels made by bark beetles.
I took my pocketknife and whittled off the side, hoping to expose more of the mycelium to atmospheric oxygen and moisture so that the mycelium and bioluminescence could spread over the next day or two.
The cut wood glowed brightly green, revealing more hidden threads of mycelium.
Setting the log up against the side of the trail, I caught the blue glow worms and the green fungus in the same shot. Mission accomplished.
Fantastic work, great shots. Loved reading about the process too.
So cool! Wonderful.