Black light glows are caused by (might get the term wrong) fluorescence, where the high energy photons of the black light excite certain molecules into releasing a burst of photons at a different wavelength (the glow you see is when that new wavelength is in the visible spectrum). So as long as what’s glowing is within the animal’s color spectrum, they should have no problem seeing it. However, an animal (like a pistol shrimp) may not quite see the same glow from black lights because it may be washed out by the brightness of the black light, as their vision extends much further into the ultraviolet (and also the infrared, but UV is what’s relevant here) than humans’ do
No_Stretch_3899 t1_j2ctlp5 wrote
Reply to Do cats and dogs see things under blacklight the same as we do? by Rowsdower32
Black light glows are caused by (might get the term wrong) fluorescence, where the high energy photons of the black light excite certain molecules into releasing a burst of photons at a different wavelength (the glow you see is when that new wavelength is in the visible spectrum). So as long as what’s glowing is within the animal’s color spectrum, they should have no problem seeing it. However, an animal (like a pistol shrimp) may not quite see the same glow from black lights because it may be washed out by the brightness of the black light, as their vision extends much further into the ultraviolet (and also the infrared, but UV is what’s relevant here) than humans’ do