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The luminous mountain millipedes

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?

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

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

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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