Lampyris noctiluca
Glow Worms at Sherwood Forest 2008
 
2008 represented a successful first year in our surveying and monitoring of two Sherwood Forest Glow Worm colonies. A clear peak for glowing females at Clipstone Old Quarter, was reched in the last week of June, with numbers declining consistantly throughout July.

Left:- Graph showing the weekly maximum counts of female Glow Worms at Clipstone Old Quarter during the Spring and Summer of 2008.

Below:- Satellite image showing the locations of female Glow Worms at Clipstone Old Quarter during the Spring and Summer of 2008.

 
                   
2008 Glow Worm sightings
Glow Worms (both adults and larvae) were recorded as follows .....L = larva ..... M = male .....F = female
 
Date   Site   Stage   Additional notes
        L M F ........  
.....................   .......................................   ........ ........ ........    
May 1st   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   1 0 0   Found on footpath late evening. Larval length 26mm. Weather clear and fairly mild.
........
May 7th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   3 0 0   Found on footpath late evening. Larval length 23mm and 25mm (x2) Weather overcast and mild.
........
May 28th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   None found. Weather dry, clear and cool.
........
June 3rd   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 3   In grass within five metres of footpath from 23:55 and 00:45h. Conditions overcast and mild following rain most of the day.
........
June 4th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 1   On edge of footpath late evening from 00:50-01:25h. Conditions clear and relatively cool.
........
June 5th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 2   On edge of footpath from 23:00-23:25h. Conditions clear and warm.
........
June 10th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 5   Found on edge (or within) three metres of footpath from 23:00-23:45h. Conditons partially overcast and mild.
........
June 14th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 8   Found on edge of footpath from 22:50-23:30h. Conditions clear and cool. Five females were concentrated within a short (10m) stretch of the path and the glowing period of some was limited.
........
June 22nd   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 38   A dramatic rise in the number of glowing females this evening and glowing earlier than expected from 22:30-23:40h. Conditions were mild, but quite windy. Many were also present over the whole of this site for the first time this year, including females which showed much higher up in the grass and other vegetation and also well away from the main path. Five females were also found along another path at this site for the first time. Another section of Sherwood Forest was checked this evening, but no Glow Worms were found.
........
June 25th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 38   There were fewer females (25) counted over the exact same route as on June 22nd, but a further 13 females were located on another section of the other path first checked on that date, leading to a final count of 38 again. Conditions were clear and mild and the site was visited from 23:00-00:20h.
........
June 27th   Sherwood Heath SK647675   0 0 207   An astonishing count of females that were spread throughout the site, although mostly in areas of grass/heathland. On several occasions, it was possible to stand at in one place and see 10-12 Glow Worms together. Conditions were overcast and extremely mild, with occasional light rain.
........
June 28th   Clumber Park .......... SK618750   0 0 12   This colony was spread thinly and over a fairly large area of scrubby grass and Heather heathland.
........
June 28th   Clumber Park .......... SK642773   0 1 13   Found along the edge of a wooded area, along a wide strip of grassland. Although habitat both sides of the minor road was the same, Glow Worms were only recorded on one side, which had a southerly aspect.
........
July 1st   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 1 51   Our first visit to count this site for nearly a week, produced an increase in numbers. Far fewer females were noted in the middle of the grass strip this evening, which denotes a change on previous visits. This is possibly due to continued grass growth. Conditions were overcast and warm.
........
July 3rd   Sherwood Heath SK647675   0 0 3   Hugely disappointing numbers this evening. Just three glowing females were eventually found, all low down in the vegetation and not glowing until 23:00h. Weather was clear and cool and the site was visited from 22:30-23:30h.
........
July 3rd   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 10   A much lower count than on our last visit to this site. Several females still remained un-mated, with one individual having moved no more than two inches , being sat on the same lump of soil as on July 1st. Weather was clear and cool and the site was visited from 22:30-23:30h.
........
July 4th   Sherwood Heath SK647675   0 0 212   With contrasting weather conditions from the previous night, the overcast and warm evening meant a return to the large numbers of June 27th. The site was visited from 22:45-00:00h and yielded a total of 212 females. A new area of the heath was checked for the first time, proving that Glow Worms occupy the whole of the heath, but in varying numbers. The count for the same area that was counted on June 27th was slightly down (188 females)
........
July 4th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 19   A better count that the previous night, but the later visit time (00:10-01:15h) seemed to coincide with females stopping glowing. At least several were noted actually dimming their lights within a few minutes. Conditions were overcast and warm.
........
July 6th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 22   A slight increase in numbers since the last visit to this site, with odd females noted away from the main area of sightings. Conditions were clear and mild.
........
July 11th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 10   Glow Worm numbers clearly on the decrease now after the evidence of this evening's visit. Conditions were overcast and mild after heavy rain for much of the afternoon, which ended shortly before our visit from 23:15-00:15h.
........
July 13th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 18   Surprisingly a higher count than on our previous visit to this site, although there are now only small numbers of females along the main path and grass strip where we initially found them here. Site visited from 22:25-00:15h.
........
July 14th   Sherwood Heath SK647675   0 0 24   A drastic reduction in glowing females present at this site this evening, with the numbers here, dropping much quicker than at Clipstone Old Quarter. Conditions were dry, overcast and warm. The visit was from 22:20-23:35h.
........
July 16th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 1 8   Numbers continue to decline, with much fewer females this evening. A male was observed attracted to a female and subsequently mating. Conditions overcast with light rain towards the end of the visit, which lasted from 22:35-23:45h.
........
July 19th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 2   Just two glowing females found this evening from 22:30-23:30h. Conditions were partly cloudy and mild.
........
July 22nd   Sherwood Heath SK647675   0 0 1   Just a single female found this evening between 22:20-23:25h. Conditions were partially clear and mild.
........
July 24th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 5   Surprisingly five glowing females were recorded this evening. Three of this total were new females. Conditions clear and warm. Site visited from 22:20-23:10h.
........
July 25th   Sherwood Heath SK647675   0 0 2   One new female found glowing this evening, in addition to the single female present on July 22nd. Conditions partially overcast and warm. Site visited from 22:00-22:45h.
........
July 26th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 2   Just two females found this evening, with one glowing for a couple of brief moments, obviously while walking around. All were present between 22:00-23:00h. Conditions clear and warm.
........
July 31st   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 3   Three females present, including one walking around, that was noted glowing for a couple of seconds only.
........
August 3rd   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 3   Still two females glowing to attract males, but again another female was noted glowing briefly and was clearly on the move. This was noted in a different area to the one noted similarly on July 31st. The two regular females have now remained un-mated since first appearing on July 24th - a minimum total of 10 days. Site visited from 21:50-22:50, conditions partially overcast and mild.
........
August 4th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 1   Only one glowing female present this evening, with the other female having been completely buried as the woodland tracks were scraped and levelled during the day. Site visited from 21:35-22:40. Conditons overcast and warm.
........
August 8th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 1   Surprisingly, still the one female remains since our last visit and is extremely unlikely to attract a male at this late stage in the season. This female is now a minimum of 15 days old. Conditions mild and lightly overcast, visit from 23:50-00:40h.
........
August 10th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   None recorded.
......................                
 
Searches providing negative results were made at the following locations.
                ..................................................................................................................
June 25th . Sherwood Forest CP SK625681 .     . None found.
June 25th . Budby Common SK623690 .     . None found.
June 25th . Budby Drive SK623690 .     . None found.
June 27th . Gibralter Plantation SK605723 .     . None found.
June 28th . Clumber Park SK617741 .     . None found.
June 29th   Walesby SK664703         None found.
July 1st   Sherwood Forest CP SK624673         None found.
July 2nd   Budby Common SK604691         None found.
                 
     
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