I don't even know what I saw

Okay right off the bat, I've been on this site for damn near 5 years maybe longer. I lurk daily but never really contribute but tonight i'm at a loss for words and thought if there was a right place to post this, the ATS community is it.

Long story short...

I was at work this evening and stepped outside for a smoke. I noticed a red light in the grass that i've noticed nights before. it almost looked like a still burning cherry of a cigarette. I had just lit up as I stared at it. I thought "wow can't be mine I just got here." I work with one other person and he doesn't smoke and the building I work at is empty is this time. I thought Wow this is weird maybe its a reflection.

Here's where it got weird.

Now remember its dark out and I have a little bit of light shining off of where I'm standing. I kneel next to it and poke it with my finger and almost immediately it looked like 3 little insect leg pull it under the surface. I freaked out and stared a bit more and thought about examining more but decided to just walk away.

Again it was dark and I'm not sure exactly what I saw. I've never seen anything like this nor have I ever posted anything prior to this for years. I say that just to comfirm i'm not posting a bunch of BS for attention or whatever some people do on the internet these days.

Anyone have any familiar experiences. I know it sounds stupid but I know what I saw and it was weird as #.

Thanks ATS

Sorry about the crappy writing, not much of a writer and quite frankly still freaked out about what the hell I just saw.

a reply to: bh325es

There's apparently only one known bioluminescent terrestrial organism which emits red. They're called "railroad worms."

Wikipedia - Railroad Worm

A railroad worm is a larva or larviform female adult of a beetle of the genus Phrixothrix in the family Phengodidae, characterized by the possession of two different colors of bioluminescence. The luminescent organs of their body can glow green, while those on their head can glow red; this is probably due to different luciferases in their bodies, as the reaction substrate, called luciferin, is the same. This is believed to be an adaptation to help confuse and frighten predators. The term "railroad worm" is also sometimes applied to the apple maggot.

EDIT:

This is one with the head growing in green. If that head were glowing red, it would look a lot like the cherry of a cigarette.



more information from the UFL entomology department.

Seems their distribution is from the Northern US all the way down to Chile.)

EDIT 2:

Here's a picture with a female larva with the head glowing red.



That's my guess. Possibly one being pulled under by a spider.

a reply to: bh325es

That's...really effing weird. That would freak me out, too. I hate bugs. I wonder if the burning cherry thing wasn't a burning cherry. Could it have been an eye? Regardless, KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF TILL YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH. You could seriously regret it. Poke it with a stick!

Here, if you're really brave this is what you need to do. Go back right now. Go get your super bright cell phone flash light. Call a couple friends to come with and help, too. And look down into where you saw that thing.

Otherwise, wait till it is bright outside and then crouch down and look for it! And take pictures of where you saw it!

I think this is interesting. And I want to know more. Be brave! Do it for ATS! IF NOT YOU, THEN WHO?!

a reply to: theantediluvian

Idk if that's what the OP is describing, but that sounds awesome. Thanks for helping me learn something cool, today.

Trap door spider?

How long were the legs? Spider eyes glow like that.

Alright awesome replies on all of you. The worm thing could be but it was more of an LED light glow. I'll be back tomorrow when I can see it in the daylight. I'd go back now but its a school campus...cameras...you get the drift.

The legs looked long and thicker than the images I'm looking up on a glow worm.

About to google trap door spider.

a reply to: Mandroid7

That is more horrifying than any other possibility.

And I thought these little red guys were ugly

a reply to: Mandroid7

Damn after watching that I can't believe I was poking around at it. It wasn't that big though. We have some hairy spiders with thicker legs in the area but I've lived in this NE PA region my whole life and never seen anything like this

a reply to: bh325es

You're lucky it didn't bite you...

originally posted by: NarcolepticBuddha
a reply to: Mandroid7

That is more horrifying than any other possibility.

Yeah, I love spiders and snakes when I can see them.
These, hzell to the na na.

a reply to: Wide-Eyes

Seriously. I'm hoping I can find something tomorrow. The whole thing was just weird because I feel its been there for a few days. I think I've been mistaking it for a piece of tinsel or something.

Oh geeze, I'll never sleep again now.

Thanks again for all your replies, I need to get active in the ATS community again you guys are awesome. I really didn't expect a immediate response.

a reply to: bh325es

Just leave it alone is my advice. A bite from a trapdoor will not be a nice experience.

I had a similar experience once, but I didn't touch it.

A few meters in front of where my car was parked, there was bushes. Behind them, just a slope which leads down to small river inside a forest of trees. There is no road, path, or buildings out that direction- just cows further out.

But there in the bushes one night, was a glowing red light. It looked like a led and my first thought was- there is someone in there using their phone...perhaps recording. But why the heck would they be on my property, in front of my house, videoing from within my bushes??

We sometimes have glow worms, and I am used to recognizing them. I don't know if we have the ones that someone put up here, with red glowing part. But this did not have any greenish light with it- it was just a powerful red light.

It freaked me out and I ran inside. Didn't have the gut to go poking around in the bushes on a dark night. (we also have some dangerous animals out here that I'd rather not disturb).

But it was weird. So I relate.

a reply to: Bluesma

Weird man

Like I said it wasn't much of a GLOW so to speak but a small light. I've just never seen anything like it. I don't plan on messing with it I just want to know what it was.

Interesting thread, though those spider pics freaked the hell out of me!!!!

I cracked up when you said you touched the damned thing! Bahahaha! Why do people always do that? A stick! You must use a stick! What if it were some alien creature or something? Sheesh!

Why wouldn't you take a photo of this creature if it was so mind blowing to you?

a reply to: bh325es

That's really scary to me...I have an aversion to walking on grass. And by aversion I mean I won't walk in it, even with shoes on. Ever since I was two years old I've panicked if I have to walk on grass.

Why? Because for whatever reason, I feel like things will come up out of it and grab me and pull me under the earth. Kinda like what you're describing...only person-sized. Screw that. I am horrified at the idea that you poked this thing with your finger...I wouldn't have even felt safe using a stick.

a reply to: bh325es

Railroad worms Found in both North and South America, these bugs and their larvae emit both green and red light—they’re the only bioluminescent insects that emit Red light. The green lights are lined up along the insect’s body, while the red lights are on its head. The red light comes on when the animal is jostled or threatened—possibly to warn off predators.

Railroad worms and other bioluminescent insects

Cheers!

It was very brave of you to poke it with your finger. Some tips for next time you see a strange light:

POKE IT WITH A STICK

and if necessary

KILL IT WITH FIRE!