Natures Fairylights

One of the reasons I wanted to return to Bundanoon was to visit the Glow Worm Glen. Obviously only after dark, it's a short descent to the Glen. We set out at dusk as suggested, walking the track as the sun set so no need for torches. The Glen is a nestled within several rock faces, closely aligned with a small creek running though. There is a purpose built platform to view the glow worms.

We joined the small gathering of people and patiently waited for the light to disappear from the sky. Glow worms are the larvae of fungus gnats. The female fungus gnat lays approximately 130 eggs before dying. After 8-9 days, the larvae hatch and position themselves within tiny rock cavities where they can retreat if conditions become unfavourable. As night falls, the glow worms lure insects into their webs by their glowing tail light. This blue green light is produce by the chemical reaction of certain body fluids of the glow worm and oxygen. Once tangled in the web, the insect is reeled in to be consumed by the larvae who needs to eat enough to sustain enough energy to metamorphose and survive the next breeding season.

The wait was a test of patience but eventually tiny blueish specs were visible and slowly became brighter. As more larvae turned on their lights, the line of the rock crevices were outlined. Trying to get a photo was useless in this case and we will have to remember natures fairy lights in our own photographic memory.

Knowing that it was after 9pm, we still had to trek back uphill to the car before driving to our camping spot and we had a very early start, we decided not to linger although I wished we could in this magical place. In the end we had managed to fit lots of fun activities into the day and have many memories to treasure.