Photo and caption by Mary Katherine Ayers

These little larvae in New Zealand shine as hard as they can to attract insects for food, and their natural glow gives a supernatural feel to the underside of a cliff bank on a hot summer night. The glow worms are very sensitive to light, so a long exposure is the only safe way to capture them - no flash! A bit of additional light from a gas lighter helps bring up the detail in the leaves surrounding the worms.

Location: Raglan, New Zealand