glowworm
noun
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This is any crawling, luminous insect that emits light either continuously, or in prolonged glows, rather than in the brief flashes that are characteristic of most fireflies. Glowworms include larvae and adult (often wingless) females of fireflies and certain other beetle species, as well as the larvae of certain gnat species. They are widely distributed. There is great diversity in the size, number, location, and structure of the bioluminescent organs of glowworms.
Examples of glowworm in a Sentence
Kaye Toal, Travel + Leisure, 7 Jan. 2024
Before descending, stop at the Waitomo Caves Discovery Centre to learn more about the glowworms and to book tours for all ages and fitness levels.
—Kaye Toal, Travel + Leisure, 7 Jan. 2024
Beyond the feudal Campagna below there are forests, where the Head Forester sends his Mauretanians and glowworms to terrorize the peasants.
—Thomas Meaney, Harper’s Magazine , 16 Feb. 2023
David Seilly, our glowworm expert and guide, is addressing the crowd.
—Jules Howard, Discover Magazine, 2 Oct. 2014
Picture everyone on the tour turning off their flashlights, then your eyes adjust to witness these glowworms lighting up the rock faces.
—Brent Conklin | Bconklin@al.com, al, 31 May 2020
Spend a day black-water tubing through caverns lit by thousands of tiny glowworms, traveling to the cave entrance via zip line and finishing the adventure on a series of natural rock slides.
—National Geographic, 20 Sep. 2019
As if huge, ancient subterranean caverns weren’t enough, many of them are covered in twinkling blue glowworms that shine like stars above you.
—Liz Carlson, Outside Online, 24 June 2019
Go black-water rafting in a cave lit by glowworms, and take a wet ride along natural rock water slides.
—National Geographic, 17 June 2019
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'glowworm.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Glowworm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glowworm. Accessed 3 Jun. 2024.
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glowworm
noun
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