Shine on: All aglow about Glow-worms

This summer we're asking you to look out for the magical Glow-worm. Have you seen any in the Low Weald or South Downs? Michael Blencowe, Senior Community Development Worker, explains more about these amazing creatures and how to get involved in the survey: 

First off we need to get one thing straight – she’s not a worm. Glow-worms are beetles – except she doesn’t look much like a beetle - more like a squashed woodlouse.

But even though she may not look like stunning, she knows that she has a certain something that is more alluring than all the brightly coloured feathers, petals, fur and scales that others use in their desperate cries for attention. When the colours of the day start to fade she undertakes a dignified climb to the top of a blade of grass, positions herself carefully,  turns on her love-light and shines.

When scientists explain this phenomena they use words like ‘bioluminescence’ and discuss the ‘oxidation of luciferin’ . But these boffins and their fancy talk ain’t fooling me – I know magic when I see it and to look upon Glow-worms sparkling on a warm summer’s evening is just that – magical.

Of course she’s not glowing for our benefit – there’s a special someone she’s trying to attract. I’ve been referring to the Glow-worm as ‘she’ because it's the female who does the glowing. The male looks like a different species altogether and doesn't have the ability to glow like the female. Much smaller and more beetle-like in appearance he has bulging eyes which are protected under a see-through rim on his tough beetle-body. He also has a superpower- he can fly.

On warm evenings he glides over the grass looking down for a female’s glow. When her signal registers on his radar he dives, crashing to the ground near her. He then looks up through his visor to locate the female hanging over him before scuttling the short distance to his new partner.

We’re lucky to still have Glow-worms in the Low Weald and South Downs – but many factors such as habitat loss and habitat fragmentation are behind a decline in numbers. We'd really like to know more about their distribution. So this summer we're asking you to report any Glow-worms you see in the Lost Woods area. Send details (date and location and a photo if you want) to lostwoodsteam@ruralsussex.org.uk. We'll pass all sightings on to the Sussex Botanical Records Centre to help with our understanding of this amazing creature.

(Banner Glow-worm photo: John Duncan)