Glow in the dark

Photographer

Stefano Pasquini

Category

Nature Photography - Macro

Company

Stefano Pasquini / Imaginarius

Submission Group

Professional

Year

2025

Country / Region:

Italy

Scorpions and some species of arachnids are fluorescent when illuminated with UV light. This characteristic comes from their exoskeleton. The cuticle that covers it is composed of different proteins containing substances responsible for this phenomenon: beta-carboline and 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin. I photographed these creatures at night, in their natural environment, with a UV light and a macro lens. The scorpion was photographed while walking on the doormat, in whose weaving there were some fluorescent synthetic fibers.