The Most De-light-ful of Encounters!

The Most De-light-ful of Encounters: Discovering Glow-worms at the Knepp Estate

If I was asked to think about glow-worms several weeks ago, images of huge dark caves with glittering ceilings and swathes of sticky bead snares hanging down would’ve come to mind.

Despite being somewhat aware that glow-worms existed in the UK, I knew very little about them and their behaviour, and hadn’t ever considered whereabouts they could be found. During my expedition with Operation Wallacea at the Knepp Estate in West Sussex, I got to experience a greater diversity of wildlife in two weeks than I had in entire years previous, and while each and every species is special in its own right, it was clear that few species are capable of invoking such child-like wonder as the glow-worm.

Our first glow-worm (Lampyris noctiluca) sighting occurred on one of the weekly bat surveying walks. We had a blast heading off out into the rewilding estate and using acoustic recorders to survey for different bat species, including Soprano Pipistrelles and Daubenton’s. If you dared turn off your headtorch and brave the bumpy soil in complete darkness, chances are you would be able to spot tiny flecks of yellowish-green light emanating from the grass on either side of the path.

Photo by Fran Anderson

Most active in the UK between May and September, glow-worms are in fact not worms, but beetles, and use bioluminescence produced through a chemical reaction to create their dazzling light. Female glow-worms tend to glow brighter than the males, and within camp a swift consensus was reached that their segmented bodies oddly resemble that of a ladybird larva.

In addition to allowing us to easily spot the bright light of the glow-worms and for males to spot females ready to mate, the lack of light pollution at the Knepp Estate made for some incredible stargazing opportunities, giving us volunteers the chance to brush up on our astronomy and constellation knowledge as well as bat identification skills!

Light pollution is thought to be negatively impacting glow-worm populations in the UK, as males could be attracted to artificial lights as opposed to the females. Female glow-worms are also wingless, making them more sensitive to habitat loss and fragmentation. I was fortunate enough to spot a handful of glow-worms during my stay, and they quickly became one of my favourite Knepp sightings.

Sometimes it is not the largest or most impressive animals, but the smallest and most unassuming, that can spark the greatest excitement and eagerness for wildlife conservation, and I certainly felt this in my time with Opwall. The spectacular diversity of invertebrate species in the UK often goes unseen or underappreciated, but places like Knepp are providing not only crucial habitat and resources for wildlife, but access to these kinds of meaningful wildlife encounters. These can help inspire people to take action for our native wildlife and help to increase awareness of these unique species, so we can greater protect them and their habitat.

Title photo by Lauren Gibson