Light up the night

Glow-worms, Lampyris noctiluca. They are a very special part of the summer for me. I had never seen them in the wild until I moved down here. They are a magical little beetle and I always get over excited when I see the first light in the grass. We are so lucky here and have three colonies on our farm. They are amazing with an incredible life cycle. Eggs are laid under stones or in burrows as they must not dry out. The larvae feed on snails. They crawl onto the snail and inject digestive enzymes then literally suck the snail up. The larvae then pupate when fully grown and emerge as either a winged male or a flightless female both unable to eat. The female then crawls up a stem where she mixes luciferin and oxygen, with luciferase as a catalyst, to get a glowing chemical reaction in her abdomen. She can turn her light on or off at will. The male flying above has large eyes and hopefully spots her, flies down to mate and may then die. She has turned her light off for mating and now goes back down to lay her eggs before she also dies. They need recording too as their numbers are yet again down www.glowworms.org.uk . You need a warm, still night to really be able to see them and the darker the night time sky the better. We go out between 10pm and midnight. Everyone gets caught up in the magic of it and we will go out for several nights to try to gage the populations number. They are a sensitive species. Always leave them where you see them. Note the site and never, ever move them. The light is like a tiny LED fairy light. Go on wrap up and explore, we have also seen badgers, deer and heard owls calling and Muntjac barking. Great family outing with a hint of the unusual. 

Plenty of food here!

Glowing for attention.