Gallery: Luminous Beauty: The Secret World of Fluorescent Arthropods
Nicky Bay01Scorpions (Lychas)
Scorpions (prob. Lychas scutilus) under UV light. This photo shows how UV reflectivity on different parts of the body varies. In fact, those variations have been proposed as a way to [examine scorpion morphology](http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1636/S03-047.1) without using electron microscopy.
Nicky Bay02Scorpion Family Values
Scorpion mother with her young riding on her back. Illuminated with Ultraviolet torch and a red LED. Note that the kids do not glow under UV light! This reflects changes in their exoskeletons as they mature. In this photo the young are a bit older, and you can start to see the reflective pattern develop on their exoskeletons.
03Harvestman (Opiliones) under UV light
Harvestman (Opiliones) under UV light. In the US, these are also sometimes called Daddy Long Legs. They are not spiders, and do not build webs. They are often scavengers, and will eat pretty much anything. You can see a photo of the same animal in normal light here; it's...well. In a discussion of how to describe the color we came up with "booger"; "snot"; and "Jolly Rancher Green Apple." You should probably never accept candy from that last person.
Nicky Bay04Millipede under UV light (Diplopoda)
Millipede under UV light (Diplopoda). Millipedes under UV look like a strange tiny train from [Studio Ghibli.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Ghibli)
Nicky Bay05Glowing Opiliones
Another shot of the Harvestman (Opiliones) under UV light. This wasn't one of Nicky Bay's favorite photos, but I love it and asked to include it. It shows what we might see if we were a tiny animal, watching this larger one moving by in the night. Wonderful and unexpected colors and patterns.
Nicky Bay06Scorpion (Liocheles)
Scorpion (prob. *Liocheles australasiae*) Illuminated with a 365nm ultraviolet LED (6s) and ambient light.
Nicky Bay07Glowing Crab Spider
This Crab Spider (*Tmarus* sp.) has an interesting pattern--its legs and cephalothorax reflect UV, but not its abdomen.
Nicky Bay08Glowing Dung Spider
This lovely spider looks quite different during the day--it's known as the __Bird Dung Spider__ (*Pasilobus* sp.). Yes. It [looks like bird poo in normal light](http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickadel/9291109581/). Recent research suggests [many spiders may fluoresce](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347211005069), and that some also have fluorescing compounds in their blood. Overall, 41 genera and 19 families of spiders are known to glow under UV light.
Nicky Bay09Glowing Spider, Paraplectana sp
This spider (*Paraplectana* sp) is a nice example of how fluorescent compounds are not evenly distributed within cuticle. What that means for the spider--or if the glowing is important to spider behavior--is not known. In regular light, this is a [pale yellow and white spider](http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickadel/10415953564/in/set-72157636820811576). Also, I propose the the common name of the [1-Up](http://www.mariowiki.com/1-Up_Mushroom) spider.
