Glow worms

[hammo]

Counted five glow worms in the long grass at the weekend. All within a three metre radius. I see the odd one now and again, anyone else seeing them recently?
Got a couple of pics but not loading, probably file too big.

 

[Tom270]

I am pretty sure there is a glow worm survey where national sigtings are recorded

 

[Tom270]

www.glowworms.org.uk

 

[hammo]

Cheers Tom, I have now logged my last sightings. Most people I speak to have never seen one

 

[Tom_Ov]

I saw one a couple of years ago in a wood I stalk in Buckinghamshire. I was genuinely pretty amazed and still smile at the memory - not seen another but live in hope. Thought someone had dropped a fluorescent ‘something’ then realised what it was.

 

[Cyres]

Lots of them on the track side vegetation in the FoD on Saturday night.
D

 

[VSS]

Haven't seen one for years

 

[Beretta V]

Never seen one

 

[Smellydog]

Got a couple of pics but not loading, probably file too big.

How bloody big were they?

 

[J.kerslake]

I saw loads last year on the farm, took a while to work out what they were/what was going on!! First time I had ever seen one!

 

[old keeper]

I've seen one this year so far. Very few and far between. Too much light pollution for them I'm afraid.

I'm sure others of the older persuasion did what we used to do. Collect a lot of glowworms in a jam jar and they would light your bedroom. That was probably eighty years ago!

 

[J@son]

I see them quite regularly not far from the canal path in Brimscombe near Stroud. Always a joy to find them.

 

[hammo]

 

[hammo]

 

[John Gryphon]

I saw them whilst by the camp fire on the confluence of the Karangarua and Copeland Rivers in NZ.
Neat if one hasn't seen before.

 

[kenbro]

Never seen one

Me neither

 

[User00047]

I used to shoot a tiny copse of gorse between two farms and I used to always see them there each year but, like many little patches of ground it has since been “developed” and I haven’t seen any since.

 

[sikamalc]

I used to see them fairly regularly when I was a boy. But I haven't seen one now for many a year.

 

[Rural Management Services]

First I have seen for years

 

[hammo]

Looked for a little more info.
Eggs are laid in sheltered damp areas. Most of the life cycle is the larval stage, where they eat mostly snails and small insects, they can secrete strands of sticky threads which glow at the ends; to traps insect prey.
After moulting a few times as they grow; its onto the cocoon stage to then hatch as an adult. No working mouth parts now, so the clock is ticking to get mating asap.
Late June to early August is the adult 'glow' stage, mostly weather dependant I expect.
Then they perish through starvation, having used up all stored nutrients.
Loss of wild grassland and light pollution are considered the two main drivers for the steady decline in numbers.

Glow-worms have captured the imagination of people throughout history and have become a part of various cultural narratives and folklore. In many societies, they are associated with mystery, magic, and the ethereal beauty of the night. From ancient legends to modern-day literature and art, glow-worms have left an indelible mark on human culture.