Glow Bugs Uk ?

[dwardo]

First posted on BB But i thought this a more likely place for interest

Following on from a thread i read earlier

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/...glow+mushrooms

Not a mushie but has anyone been camping in the dunes on shell island wales ? Last year we were there and there was a moth/bug looking thing glowing brightly like a glow worm (only seen one on the telle)

Never seen awt like it in my life it was great, would of got a closer look but i recon he was chatting up another bug across the way so didnt want to get in the middle of anything.

It was about 3/4 of an inch long and looked like a big bodied moth thats about all i remember any idents appreciated thanks

 

[Justin Time]

sounds like Glow Worms
look here for more info

 

[Grooveski]

I'd only seen a couple of glow worms in my life until last year when I camped at a spot where there were hundreds of them among the bracken.
The whole area was covered in little green lights .

 

[Moonraker]

An interesting snippet on this:

I'm seeking an explanation. A co-workers son observed in the forests near Portland, a stump that glowed in the dark, even if a piece of the stump was sliced off the interior glowed. Is this fungal, algal or extraterrestrial?

Around 40 species of fungi and certain bacteria are capable of carrying out chemical reactions that give out light sometimes causing the wood or leaves they attack to become luminous. Luminous wood has been known for centuries to people living near forests and is called 'foxfire'. Mark Twain makes reference to it in his 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'. One of the most common species growing on rotten stumps capable of luminescence is the Honey Fungus (Armillaria mellea).

source: http://fungus.org.uk/nwfg/nwfgfaq.htm#lumin

That's 40 species in the British Isles, loads more world-wide. And Honey Fungus (Armillaria mellea) is a common fungus which kills many trees each year. See link for more details. It is also edible too but check link for more info on that.

It could only be the the Glow Worm (Lampyris noctiluca), which could be mistaken for a moth on the ground or on a grass stalk, as the only other species in Europe, the Phosphaenus hemipterus " is vary rare and apparently seen only in parts of Sussex and Hampshire" and the the Firefly (Lamprohiza splendidula) is not found in the UK. There are a few caterpillars and beetles that luminesce but nothing like the glow worm.

In fact there is a report on the net of glow worms spotted on Shell Island

Location: Mochras (Shell Island)
Number seen: 5 females
Spotted by: Paul Hickson
Date: 29/6/03

source: http://www.uksafari.com/glowworms3a.htm

We have them in our garden in France each year ( I leave a patch of longer grass as a 'snail sanctuary' which they live off to try and encourage them), and also quite a few this year just outside the house here on the Coastal Path coming into Lyme Regis this summer. Always a wonderful sight.

 

[dwardo]

Cheers guys i knew it wasnt a mix of way too much Bundaberg rum and badly cooked food

 

[Jack]

It is the females that glow and of course they are trying to attract the males, as a rule glow worms are becoming quite rare.

 

[Hunter_zero]

It is the females that glow and of course they are trying to attract the males, as a rule glow worms are becoming quite rare.

There is only one place in the Cardiff area that I know where to find these.
gave me one one hell of a shock one night whilst lamping.

John

 

[Phantom]

ive never ever saw one when i do though i'll take some pics and post them on here
phantom

 

[Bonobo Boy]

Old Thread I know but couldnt resist.
June/July in Pylle, Somerset.
The main road through this village is peppered with glow worms.
Truly beautiful!

 

[Grooveski]

Seen a few at the weekend and this wee female was nice enough to sit patiently while I footered about with camera settings and a headtorch trying to catch the glow.

 

[Goose]

I have seen these in Catterick training area, lots of them I didn't realise they where rare but thought they where in pockets around the place. I spotted one at Merthyr Mawr at the moot two years ago, you see a lot more when you don't use a torch for moving round!