Glow-worms
By Slinky,
Female Glow-worms glow to attract the flying non-glowing mates to mate with, after they have mated the females stop glowing. The prime times to see Glow-worms is in June/July. They are widespread in the south but unfortunately they are on the decline.
When/where? The best times to see these amazing creatures is between 10.30pm - 12.00am (they glow for around 2 hours) You can see them in all weather conditions but a dry moonless night makes them easier to spot! On these nights the female will often climb a grass stem or other vegetation to gain height and make it easier for the males to spot their glow. On wet/windy nights its more difficult to locate them as they do not climb so high. They favour limestone areas old quarries and disused railway lines, where there are a lot of snails for them to eat.
When you are out searching for Glow-worms, what you need to look out for are bright tiny green lights like a LED, please be careful upon locating them not to disturb them. Sometimes you will also find the males on the backs of the females mating. (eight have been recorded on one female at once!!)
I was going to post up all known Glow-worm sites but its a big list and being new to this blogging thingy am a tad unsure of the posting rules still, however if you are interested in these please message me or reply to this if you can??.
If this blog inspires you to go glowworm hunting, or if you have already been this year, please could you post up your observations. It would be a great help to my research.
Best stop boring you all now!! Before I go here are two pictures I have taken over the last two weeks (attached I think!)
[img]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/2619818734_30e28a7916.jpg[/img]
[img]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3114/2641920966_d44dba83ce.jpg[/img]
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