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The Secret Indentity of the Railroad-Worm Beetle

By Rudy Mancke
Published September 29, 2017 at 5:15 AM EDT
A female "railroad-worm" beetle: lights on, lights out.
(c) Aaron Pomerantz [CC BY 2.0] via Flickr
A female "railroad-worm" beetle: lights on, lights out.
The adult, male railroad-worm beetle.
Credit The adult, male railroad-worm beetle. / skeeze [CC0 1.0]/Pixabay
/
Pixabay
The adult, male railroad-worm beetle.

By day, a normal looking "worm." By night... it glows! The railroad-worm, or glow-worm, is a larva or larviform female adult of a beetle of the genus Phrixothrix in the family Phengodidae.

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Rudy Mancke
Rudy Mancke served as naturalist and co-host of South Carolina ETV's <i>NatureScene</i>, which began its long run in 1978. His field trips, broadcast nationwide, earned him a legion of dedicated viewers. Rudy's knowledge of the complex inner-workings of different ecosystems and his great admiration for the natural world make him the perfect guide. In fact, the National Wildlife Federation and the Garden Club of America honored his commitment to resource conservation with special awards. After retiring from SCETV, Rudy went on to become naturalist-in-residence at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. He hosted SC Public Radio's <i>NatureNotes</i> from 1999 until his death in 2023 at age 78.
See stories by Rudy Mancke