Author Archives: nannaria

The luminous mountain millipedes

Posted on May 8, 2015 by nannaria

This week, we published a study documenting the rediscovery of the millipede Xystocheir bistipita, which turns out to be bioluminescent and a species of Motyxia, the Luminous mountain millipedes (Marek & Moore, 2015). A few folks have asked what the … Continue reading →

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Why study bioluminescence?

Posted on January 25, 2015 by nannaria

The bioluminescent jellyfish Aequorea victoria is the source of green fluorescent protein (GFP) Credit: Sierra Blakely, Wikimedia Commons My research team, which is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), explores bioluminescence—the biological production of light by natural chemical reactions.   … Continue reading →

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Parasitoid wasps

Posted on November 14, 2014 by nannaria

Parasitoid wasp in the family Braconidae (genus Asobara) Parasitoid wasp in the family Pteromalidae (genus Pachycrepoideus) Jamie Wahls, grad student in Tom Kuhar’s Vegetable Entomology Lab @ VT, visited our lab again with some of his fascinating parasitoid wasps. These … Continue reading →

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The poisonous web of a bioluminescent fly

Posted on November 10, 2014 by nannaria

The toxic web of Orfelia fultoni (Diptera, Keroplatidae) While on a collecting trip to the Pisgah Mountains of North Carolina, we found the fly Orfelia fultoni. These luminous fly larvae dotted the mossy bank of a spring and emitted a … Continue reading →

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