Fulton was performing field work when he noticed O. fultoni’s glowing blue light at night.

He found the larvae concealed themselves in crevices during the day and crawled out at night on their webs to emit their light and feed.

Once raised to maturity, entomologist Elizabeth Gault Fisher was able to identify them as an undescribed species of Platyura.

[1] Orfelia fultoni occurs in the Appalachian Mountains and Cumberland Plateau, primarily in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

[2] The larvae of the species live in stream banks among moss and rock cavities, as well as in wet sandstone caves.

The O. fultoni require a dark, still area where their lights can shine and where the wind doesn’t disturb their webs too much.

[3] Orfelia fultoni has sometimes been referred to by the common name "dismalites", in consequence of their presence in Dismals Canyon, an 86-acre National Natural Landmark with a spring-fed creek and waterfall in northwest Alabama.

[6] It is distantly related to Arachnocampa, a genus of gnat species with a bioluminescent larval stage endemic to New Zealand and Australia.