‘Even pigeons look amazing’: the multicoloured magic of a biofluorescent nature walk

Unlike many animals, humans can ’t see biofluorescence unaided – but with a UV torch, a night stroll looks very differentIt is a murky, dank night in the middle of the countryside, a tawny owl is calling, and I am in raptures, stroking a slug. From the nearby blackness, Jeremy Buxton, a farmer, exclaims: “Oooh, an earthworm!. Oh, wow.”The brown slug is emitting brilliant fluorescent yellow slime as I touch it; the earthworm is revealing twin tracks of turquoise on its belly. What might appear some kind of experiment with psychedelic mushrooms is actually a new way of seeing the world at night: shining ultraviolet torches to reveal the natural biofluorescence of animals, plants and fungi.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Wildlife Norfolk UK news Environment Animals Science Source Type: news