Tree Star

Written by Douglysium

Arachnocampa luminosa ramus, or more commonly known as the “tree star”. They are a type of glow worm of the arachnocampa luminosa variety that has adapted to living in / on trees instead of in caves while in their larval form. Like their cave dwelling cousins, their larval and imaginal stages produce a blue-green bioluminescence. Their larva creates nest out of silk and then hangs on branches while lowering silk threads with regularly placed small sticky droplets. When an insect becomes caught in this trap the silk will be pulled up and it will be eaten alive. Unlike their cave variants, the tree star is known to also incorporate things like wood, debris, or sand into their nest in order to strengthen it. They also taste quite terribly in order to ward of predators. They get their name from the fact that from a distance their light can make it look like a tree has stars in it.

Their pupas look worm like and, due to being a type of fungus gnat, their adult forms resemble glowing gnats. Their pupas resemble a sort of glowing chrysalis. When in their adult form the males glow green while the females glow blue. Adults don’t live for very long and use their bioluminescence to find a mate before the female lays eggs dies.

Scientific Name

Arachnocampa luminosa ramus

Origin/Ancestry

Glow worms