A night walk with the UV flashlight. Experience how some insects fluoresce under UV light or how plants and mushrooms glow in different colors
The rods in the eye are responsible for seeing in the dark. They are around 500 times more sensitive to light than the cones, which perceive colors in bright light. This is why we only perceive our surroundings in black and white tones in the dark. Although a flashlight can brighten up the darkness, it is not comparable to daylight. Things get interesting when we use a UV flashlight. Although the human eye cannot perceive ultraviolet light, it can perceive its radiation when it encounters fluorescent materials. This light is visible to humans and the colors glow.
The properties of UV light are useful in many areas: UV light can be used to make things visible that were previously invisible. Fluorescent materials are particularly useful for security features: banknotes, documents such as passports and other valuables are marked with them. But many plants, fungi, insects and minerals also glow under black light.
The nature park would like to show you this effect on a night-time hike near Dahmen. You may even find insects or their developmental stages that you would not have noticed in daylight. The meeting point is on Friday, May 8 at 9 pm at the sports field in Dahmen (at the fishery). If you have a UV flashlight, you are welcome to bring it along.
