Firefly larvae also glow — the light is a warning to predators that the larva is full of toxic lucibufagins.
All scorpions, deathstalkers included, glow blue-green under UV light. Why they evolved this remains an active research debate.
Like all scorpions, emperors glow vivid blue-green under UV light — a property biologists still actively debate the function of.
The blue-green light comes from a unique luciferase — biochemically distinct from fireflies.
Light is produced by the LUCIFERIN/LUCIFERASE chemical reaction in specialized abdominal organs — yellow-green wavelength, bright enough to be visible from 30+ meters away in dark fields.
The New Zealand glowworm (Arachnocampa luminosa) is a fungus gnat — larvae hang from cave ceilings producing blue light to attract prey. Same family as the houseplant pest.
The Cuban headlight click beetle produces the brightest continuously-glowing terrestrial bioluminescence of any animal — over 30 millilumens.
