The Short Life of a Native Glowworm

The Short Life of a Native Glowworm

Located just two and a half hours drive from Auckland, lies the natural wonders of the Waitomo Glowworm Caves - home to millions of glowworms that are native to New Zealand.

Believe it or not, the New Zealand glowworm has a very short life cycle – lasting just a few days as a fully-grown adult.

The glowworm lifecycle starts when the female fly lays approximately 120 small spherical eggs. Around 30 days later, the young larvae start to hatch and build nests of their own - putting down long, sticky feeding lines to eat from.

Even at a very small size (less than three millimetres long) the larvae emits a visible light to lure in insects within the dark depths of the caves – the insect is attracted towards the light and when it gets too close to the feeding lines, it gets tangled up and once stuck, there’s no getting out - as the larvae draws the line up to devour it’s feed.

After about nine months, the larvae forms into a pupa (like a cocoon). The pupa lasts for about 13 days and will be suspended by a thread.

When the pupa hatches, it becomes an adult glowworm (looking similar to a large mosquito). It has no mouth and its sole function is to reproduce and disperse the species. In fact, usually a male adult glowworm is waiting for the female to emerge from its pupa so that mating can take place immediately. The adult glowworm then dies just a few days after hatching.

To survive, the glowworm needs a very special habitat:
- Humidity - to prevent it from drying out
- A sheltered surface to hang from and suspend its sticky, spider-like feeding lines
- A calm atmosphere to prevent the lines from tangling
- Darkness to allow its light to attract food
- A plentiful supply of insets to eat

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves provide the perfect environment for the native glowworms to survive - with an abundance of insects brought into the cave via the flowing underground river and if you leave just a few days between visits to the cave, the adult glowworms that were there on your last visit will have mated, laid their eggs and died.

Explore the secret world for yourself - for more information about Waitomo Glowworm Caves, please visit www.waitomo.com.

ENDS

© Scoop Media