Winner of the 2023 Wiki Science Competition in the category of “General category”
The winning submission of General category shows us bioluminescence in the adhesive web of predatory larvae of fungus gnats. It was made by DmytroLeontyev.
More info and runners up available here:
https://www.wikisciencecompetition.org/2024/12/17/winners-of-wsc23-general-category/
Author comment:
I am a professor from Ukraine, PhD, DrSci, specializing in mycology, evolutionary and molecular biology. I am the author of around 400 scientific publications, as well as popular books on the history of art.
Photography has been a lifelong passion of mine, though I see it not as a separate art but rather as a way to share my impressions about the beauty of the world. As a professional, I often photograph my scientific subjects using macro photography, light, and even electron microscopy. For pleasure, I capture architecture, classical art, and living things around me. During a scientific expedition to Australia in March 2023, I was fortunate to find chains of glowing droplets in a deep niche of a rocky cliff.
I already knew they were one of the wonders of Australian fauna, the traps of predatory fungus gnat larvae, and I tried to take a good photograph. However, the fact that this particular photo received such high recognition came as a huge surprise to me, since capturing it did not require significant effort. Nonetheless, these creatures are truly stunning!.
