Spectacular Long-Exposure Photographs of a New Zealand Cave Illuminated by Glow Worms

You could be forgiven for mistaking these ethereal images of a cave system in New Zealand as man-made, using twinkly blue fairy lights or lamps to create the warm glow. However, not for the first time, nature has unintentionally created this incredible fairytale-like scene. The glow is bioluminescent gnat larva (or arachnocampa luminosa) living on 30 million-year-old limestone formations.

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The blue lights, emitted mostly by female larva, is what is believed to be a way of attracting mates. The images were captured by photographer Joseph Michael using long-exposure equipment.

 

 

 

Check out the rest of Michael's project, titled Luminosity, here.