Profile – Floundering Zone

Curriculum Vitae

Latin name?

Lampyris noctiluca
UK population? (How many are in the UK?)

No one knows, but we seem to be getting rarer
Genome Size? (Genome size is the total amount of DNA contained within one copy of a single genome)

About 1 Gbp
Most recent common ancestor to Homo Sapiens (presumed)

A little creature that lived in the sea 560 million years ago

I should be sequenced because...: it would show how we are related to other fireflies, and to glow-worms in other parts of the UK, which could help to conserve us.
Tell us more...:

Click here to vote for me:

As well as helping glow-worms, being able to read their genome could also help us to find a cure for diseases like cancer, because the glowing molecules can be used to light up cells where particular genes are switched on.

A glowing female waving her tail

A female climbing and glowing at the same time

A male glow-worm

A young glow-worm lighting up to scare off predators

A young glow-worm riding a snail

A young glow-worm washing its hands after a meal
About Me::

I am the only animal in the UK that can shine a light from its bottom! I’m a sort of beetle called a firefly. I spent the first two or three years of my life as a larva, coming out at night to feed on snails. As you can see from this photo, I can eat a snail perhaps a hundred times my own weight (that’s about the same as a human eating an elephant). I can switch on a light at the tip of my tail to warn predators that I taste disgusting.

A glow-worm larva eating a snail

When I turned into an adult I had a much brighter light, which I use to attract other glow-worms. Only male glow-worms have wings, so the females stand still and use their light to guide the flying males to them.

A glowing female
My Interview
- How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
  
  Brightly glowing beetle
  
  What's it like where you live?
  
  Dark. we mostly come out at night to feed and glow
  
  What's your favourite food?
  
  Slugs and snails (delicious)
  
  What's your family life like?
  
  Lonely. We rarely see each other for the two or three years of our childhood, until we turn into adults
  
  Are you endangered or threatened by anything?
  
  Yes, things like pollution and our habitat being destroyed
  
  What's the best thing about you/interesting fact?
  
  From the moment we're born we can make a wonderful bright green light from our tails
  
  The champion of this species is...
  
  John Tyler and Robin Scagell
My profile link:
https://ias.im/u.156152