Bigger and Brighter

"Watch," he told me. He flicked the switch on the black light and aimed it out at the yard.

"Oh, wow," I said. "They're like horrible little stars." Dozens of scorpions, previously invisible in the night, gleamed white-blue in the nearly invisible ultraviolet radiation. They ranged in size from fingertip-length to the size of my hand. "Why are some brighter than others?"

"They get more reflective over time," he said. "Every molting, they come out bigger and brighter."

I started to answer when something rustled overhead and a brilliant white glow threw our shadows into stark relief on the ground...