When I first saw a glow worm, it was pretty fascinating. But it wasn’t the coolest thing – also, there was only one. Later, our tour guide showed us how the glow worms eat and why they glow, and then I got really engaged. Then, after seeing more individual glowworms, we hopped into a raft (still underground). We slowly went through a river that ran through the mouth of the cave. Soon after we turned a corner. There it was, were thousands of glowworms! I could see how bugs thought of them as being the night sky. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen!
As we got deeper the cave got cooler, obviously. It was around 15 degrees celsius I think. In the first cave you could here the river, and that’s just about it. In the second cave you could hear, and unfortunately sometimes feel water droplets, forming the cave itself. Sometimes it was dark, sometimes you saw animal bones, and others you saw glowworms.
I learned that glow worms are not actually worms, they are larvae of a fly! I also learned why they glow. Glow worms actually only produce their glow from one place in their body, an organ in their tails! Bioluminescence is created by a chemical reaction, in this case, inside the glowworms waste. Glow worms glow to attract bugs. (Bugs think they are escaping the cave by seeing the nighttime sky), their glow can only be seen in the dark. They make strands of sticky strands of web (as demonstrated below in the picture). Bugs, trying to escape the cave, fly up and get caught in the strands, then the larvae pull the strand up and eat the bug (kind of like fishing, also kind of like a spider)!
The cave environment is damp and has bugs. The cave environment also provides a dark space. So, the bugs will actually think the glowworms are the night sky. Caves are important for glow worms food. Other animals that I saw in these caves were the flys and other bugs for food, Obviously. I also found huge cave crickets, and albino cave ants. We also saw eels in the river inside the cave. The Glowworms in the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. Are essential to the ecosystem and they help keep the bugs under control. The Maori people have cultural beliefs connected to Waitomo Glowworm Caves. this is why the caves are a taonga in their native language(treasure) and the original entrance was used as a burial ground by the Maori people. According to legend the caves are kept safe by a mythical creature, the Taniwha. Some areas are roped off, railings are drilled and lights are drilled in so the caves are safe to tourists. Cave inspectors come through to check on sinkholes and rivers, for the safety of tourists
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