Pete Smissen

Why us, scorpions?

And then, oh, it's in there already, bioluminescent.

Okay.

They glow a bright blue-green under ultraviolet light because of fluorescent compounds, beta carboline in their tough outer skeletons.

The question was why, not why.

Mm-hmm.

Prey attraction and confusion.

The glow might lure insects or confuse prey in low-light environments.

UV protection.

It may also act as a natural slash protective sunscreen against UV radiation, because I guess you're reflecting it, right?

And the entire body acts as a light detector, helping nocturnal scorpions find shelter by sensing the shade of a hiding spot, which reduces the glow.

Interesting.

Yeah, I wonder how you would set those experiments up.

What does that mean, Dan?

What's the appeal there, though?

Why?

Because I know there's those two types of people.

There's the ones who like going to a specific location, setting up a home base and exploring, versus you don't like that.

What do you think the pros and the cons are?

But isn't that stimulation, seeing all the different places?