Life That Glows
Life That Glows is a 2016 British nature documentary all about animals and plants that make their own light. It is hosted and narrated by Sir David Attenborough. The one-hour program looks at bioluminescence—the ability of living things to glow in the dark—from forests to the deep sea.
The show covers many glowing creatures and phenomena. Fireflies use light to find mates. Luminous fungi and glowing bacteria create light in forests and seas, including the Milky Seas effect. Flashlight fish, glowing millipedes, glow-worms, and bioluminescent tides in places like Tasmania are shown. It also features dolphins swimming in glowing water and explains flashes used by brittle stars and ostracods. The film looks at how some insects use light to attract prey or mates, such as shining click beetles in Brazil and glow-worms in New Zealand.
In the deep sea, the program introduces glowing animals like the vampire squid, yellow-light Tomopteris worms, the jellyfish Atolla, comb jellies, viperfish, pyrosomes, dragonfish, and other bioluminescent creatures. It explains how some animals’ eyes are designed to see light in the dark, such as the barreleye fish and the cock-eyed squid. The film ends with the spectacular mass spawning of firefly squid in Japan.
Life That Glows was made for BBC Two in the United Kingdom and runs about 59 minutes. It is a joint production of the BBC Natural History Unit, BBC Worldwide, Ammonite Films, and Terra Mater Factual Studios. It was directed by Joe Loncraine, written by Martin Dohrn, and composed by Fraser Purdie.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 17:06 (CET).