Night can bring out the strangest of animals. 

Termites mounds rise over the planes of Emas National Park in Brazil. You can easily spot the abandoned ones, glittering green, distracting from the starry sky above. These lights, although a wonder to witness, hold a sinister twist for the animals who are attracted to them. Firefly larvae have overtaken these abandoned mounds. hollowing out U-shaped borrows into the surface to reflect their distinctive green light. These animals are displaying a natural bioluminescent chemical that can be found in their heads. By moving around, this light acts like a lure to all nearby flying prey.

Animals such as butterflies, moths, winged termites and ants are commonly attracted to these eerie green lights. These then fall pray to the predatory firefly larvae, getting stuck in the silk the larvae produce, much like spiders. This species of firefly is known as Pyrearinus termitilluminans, meaning "great fire that illuminates the termite nest". The females lay their eggs at the base of an abandoned mound, allowing them to have a safe space to display their lights. Once old enough, the larvae seal up their burrows allowing them to pupate, and eventually emerging as adults to mate and lay the next generation of fireflies at the base of another abandoned termite mound,

©Marcio Cabral/fotoexplorer.com

​Giant Anteaters take advantage of these lights, as it allows them an easy meal by stealing both the fireflies' food and by eating the fireflies themselves. These vulnerable animals normally prey on the termites that create these giant structures although with fireflies inhabiting the abandoned ones, it means that they will get a tasty meal no matter which mound they choose.

This image by photographer Marcio Cabal won him a prize in the annual Big Picture Natural World Photography Competition. All of the other 47 prize winning images can be found at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco from the 28th of July, or can be viewed online at Biographic.com. ​​