Insect Behaviour - Fungus Gnat Larvae

This ugly critter looks like something out of star wars, but they are actually from New Zealand. This larvae of a type of fungus gnat is usually found in deep dark volcanic caves. They can also be found in trees that are generally in the dark. This is for protection against predators, but mainly for hunting. They catch thier food in the dark by making long silk threads and hanging them down with drops of sticky mucus. The waste the larvae produces has a chemical reaction with air and produces a bright blue light which attracts prey. These "cave glow worms" usually eat mayflies and other small flies, but they also eat snails, gnats (themselves as adults) and roaches. This finished copy took around 8 hours to complete using entirely PhotoShop CS2. Including the research, roughs, linears and colour studies it took about a month (well working on it like 2 hours a week)