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Fluorescent millipedes on Alcatraz

By dr. dolittle on March 29, 2013.
millipedes-blacklight Fluorescing millipedes. Image credit: Robert Kimsey

Alcatraz is even more exciting that I had previously thought! Early last year the National Park Service had baited rats on the island with a non-toxic fluorescent food dye so they could track the animals as they left behind fluorescent droppings. Volunteers from the UC Davis entomology club along with workers then searched the island using black lights to find evidence of the rodents. Finding fluorescent millipedes instead was quite a surprise for the UC Davis entomology group! Dr. Robert Kimsey and his student Alexander Nguyen are studying what makes the millipedes glow. I can't but wonder if the bugs just happened to eat baited rat food. Whether they became fluorescent by natural means, or by ingesting fluorescent dye, they certainly are a beautiful sight.

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Life Science

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Alcatraz is a beautiful site.

A fluorescent millepede is a beautiful sight.

You have my permission to use one of these as a cite.

Some scorpions are fluorescent so I wouldn't be surprised if this was natural.

Scorpions are also fluorescent, and that is often how they are detected by humans hunting them.