DadTalk

Not so cute now?

We are currently in Waitomo, central North Island, New Zealand.  There is really only one reason tourists come here; glow worms.

The hills of Waitomo are riddled with limestone caves, filled with wonderful stalactites and their friends the stalagmites.  As you can see, Dad’s geological tour of the world continues and there has been much discussion on acidic rainwater and dissolving rocks, including a practical demonstration using large amounts of sugar in a glass of water.

But what makes these caves so special is that their roofs are covered in glow worms.  Looking around is a truly magnificent sight, rather like looking at a perfectly clear starry night.  But there are a few facts they only tell you when you get here.  Firstly they are maggots not worms.  Secondly it is a chemical reaction in their poo that causes the glow.  The light attracts bugs onto a long sticky mucus thread, which the glow “worms” reel in to feast on the trapped beast.  However for some reason Waitomo Tourist Board decided not to go for the tag line “Come see the maggots, with glowing poo, capture flies on their 6 inch bogies”.

After putting on a wonderful light show for about a eight months, the glow worm then forms a cocoon and turns into a something that looks a lot like a mosquito (think of caterpillars and butterflies, but in the dark).  The adult form has no mouth, so has two days to mate, lay 200 odd eggs and die.  It makes you think.