Lampyris noctiluca
Glow Worms at Sherwood Forest 2012
Click here for details of individual females during 2012
Female distribution maps 2009-2012
Nottinghamshire Glow Worm records
     
Latest update - May 23rd 2012

Regular surveys are now being carried out for adults, but have so far proved fruitless. Currently no reports of any adult Glow Worms being seen anywhere in the UK.

Glow Worms in Nottinghamshire

With the help of volunteers, we are hoping to get some known and potentially new Glow Worm sites surveyed this Summer, to see if Glow Worms are present. If you would like to help, contact us via the email link on the homepage. A list of potential sites near your location can be provided and a lure to attract males is available for use, for those not wishing to walk around after dusk. Basically, surveying would take around an hour (depending on size of site to be surveyed) on an evening, from around 10pm, between late May and late July.
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Larval sizes found during Spring 2012
    Glow Worm larval size/average per year  
Week/period . 2009 2010 2011 2012 Wkly avg
March 22-31 . ..... ..... 18.03mm/27 21.16mm/6 19.59mm
April 1-7 . 23.33mm/3 21.27mm/13 18.64mm/70 19.00mm/5 20.56mm
April 8-14 . 21.14mm/14 19.58mm/17 19.19mm/31 19.66mm/9 19.89mm
April 15-21 . 20.45mm/10 20.78mm/18 19.78mm/53 23.20mm/5 21.05mm
April 22-29 . 23.32mm/25 18.74mm/53 19.97mm/39 18.77mm/9 20.20mm
April 30-May 6 . 22.95mm/20 23.20mm/5 21.87mm/8 20.95mm/22 22.24mm
May 7-14 . 22.08mm/17 23.25mm/4 ..... 22.30mm/10 20.72mm
May 15-22 . ..... 19.66mm/6 ..... ..... .....
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Spring average . 22.21mm/89 20.92mm/116 19.58mm/228 20.45mm/66 .....
  Always looking to contribute something different to the study of Clipstone Old Quarter's Glow Worm population, we have recently been looking at the average size of all the larvae found since 2009. This proved to be quite interesting and has revealed some striking differences from year to year, something that we had not realised before.

In 2009 and 2010, the average larval sizes were considerably greater than those recorded in 2011. In 2009, the average length was found to be 1.30mm larger than in 2010, but a huge 2.63mm larger than in 2011. So far, 2012 has seen an average increase in larval lengths of around 0.50mm, over the figures recorded for 2011.
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The table above shows the averages attained during each weekly period of larval surveying since 2009. This year's data will be added daily as the Spring progresses. The table should be self explanatory, with the average larval lengths shown in millimetres per week. The figure after the forward slash represents the total number of larvae from which the weekly average is calculated.
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We have looked at the period of April 1st -7th of each survey year, taken the average larval size found and then compared them with the recorded rainfall between the months of May to August & September to March.  
Summer period Rainfall . Winter period Rainfall Survey period Spring Size (Avg)
May 08 - Aug 08 313.80mm . Sep 08 - Mar 09 452.00mm April 1-7 2009 23.33mm
May 09 - Aug 09 306.10mm . Sep 09 - Mar 10 462.70mm April 1-7 2010 21.27mm
May 10 - Aug 10 223.90mm . Sep 10 - Mar 11 372.00mm April 1-7 2011 18.64mm
May 11 - Aug 11 215.20mm . Sep 11 - Mar 12 340.50mm April 1-7 2012 19.00mm
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The rainfall is based on Met Office rainfall data for the Midlands area. There seems to be a possible correlation between Spring larval sizes and the amount of rainfall during the preceding 11 months. In the table, we have divided the 11 months into two periods, just to see if the data held up for the preceding Summer, as it seems to do with the preceding Winter. But two other factors to consider are food availabilty (which would be as affected by rainfall as larval growth) and the mean temperature throughout both periods. Adult female Glow Worms very rarely glow when the temperature is below 8°C, so it would be safe to assume that larvae will also be inactive at similar temperatures.
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Month   Size range Size (Avg)
June . 10-17mm/4 14.25mm
July . 13-22mm/16 15.00mm
August . 13-27mm/13 17.23mm
  So what of larval sizes during the rest of the year? It is generally agreed that most larvae take two years to reach maturity, but there are obviously exceptions to this rule depending on how much food a larva finds within it's first three or four months after hatching, otherwise adults would be expected to occur every other year. Larvae found in June- August will have hatched from eggs laid about a year previous and will continue to grow until passing a second Winter nearly full grown and completing their growth the following Spring.
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We currently have data on a total of 33 larvae found during the period June to August in the past three years. The average larval lengths are broken down and shown in the above table. As before, the figure after the forward slash represents the total number of larvae from which the average is calculated.
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2012 Glow Worm sightings
Glow Worms (both adults and larvae) have been recorded as follows.....L = larva ..... M = male .....F = female
 
Date   Site   Stage   Additional notes
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February 28th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   2 0 0   Amazed to find two larvae on our first site visit of the season this evening. Larval lengths were 16mm and 15mm and both were active in section D of the path. Site visited from 17:10h-18:00h. Weather cloudy and mild.
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February 29th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found this evening. Site visited from 17:30h-18:15h. Weather clear and cool.
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March 3rd   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found this evening. Site visited from 16:50h-17:50h. Weather cloudy and fairly mild.
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March 10th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found this evening. Site visited from 16:30h-17:30h. Weather clear and mild.
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March 11th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   1 0 0   One 17mm larva found in section D this evening. Site visited from 17:00h-18:00h. Weather clear and mild.
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March 22nd   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   3 0 0   Three larvae found and once again, all were in section D. Larval sizes included singles measuring 16mm, 20mm and 27mm. Weather clear and feeling quite warm.
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March 23rd   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   1 0 0   One 18mm larva found in section B this evening. Site visited from 17:25h-18:15h. Weather clear and mild.
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March 24th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found this evening. Site visited from 17:20h-18:15h. Weather clear and mild.
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March 25th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found this evening. Site visited from 18:10h-19:20h. Weather clear and warm.
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March 26th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found again this evening. Site visited from 17:50h-18:45h. Weather clear and warm.
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March 27th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found again this evening. Site visited from 18:45h-19:45h. Weather clear and warm.
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March 28th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   1 0 0   One 19mm larvae found this evening in section D, but thought dead as it was curled on it's side. Potted and taken home, but revived and seems OK. Site visited from 18:15h-19:20h. Weather clear and warm.
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March 29th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found this evening. Site visited from 18:45h-19:45h. Weather clear and warm.
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March 30th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   Yet again there were no larvae found this evening. Site visited from 18:15h-19:20h. Weather clear and warm.
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March 31st   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   1 0 0   One 27mm larva found trampled in section B of the path this evening. Was thought dead and taken home, but remains alive. Site visited from 19:30h-20:00h. Weather clear and cool.
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April 2nd   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   3 0 0   Three larvae recorded this evening. All coming from section D, with lengths of 21mm (two) and one at 15mm. Site visited from 18:30h-19:30h. Weather cloudy and mild.
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April 4th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found again this evening. Site visited from 18:45h-19:40h. Weather overcast and cool.
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April 5th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found this evening. Site visited from 18:30h-19:30h. Weather clear and mild.
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April 6th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found. Site visited from 18:35h-19:35h. Weather cloudy and mild.
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April 7th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   2 0 0   Two larvae recorded from section B this evening. Larval lengths 21mm and 17mm. Site visited from 17:30h-18:25h. Weather cloudy and mild.
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April 8th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   4 0 0   A total of four larvae found this evening, but one 17mm larva in section A had been freshly trampled minutes before. Larval lengths of the three live larvae were 23mm, 19mm and 17mm. Site visited from 17:05h-18:05h. Weather cloudy and mild.
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April 10th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   1 0 0   A single 19mm larva found in section D this evening. Weather was clear and mild. Site visited from 18:00h-19:00h.
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April 11th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   3 0 0   Three larva found this evening, one of which was dead. Larval lengths were 27mm and two at 19mm (one dead) Weather cloudy and mild. Site visited from 17:15h-18:05h.
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April 12th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   1 0 0   One 17mm larva found this evening. Weather sunny spells and fairly mild. Site visited from 17:30h-18:30h.
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April 13th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found. Site visited from 17:00h-18:00h. Weather sunny and feeling mild.
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April 14th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found. Site visited from 17:45h-18:55h. Weather cloudy and breezy, feeling cool.
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April 15th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found. Site visited from 17:15h-18:15h. Weather sunny and partly cloudy, feeling cool.
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April 16th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found. Site visited from 18:45h-19:50h. Weather cloudy and quite breezy.
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April 17th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   2 0 0   Two larvae found this evening, despite the unpromising conditions. Larval sizes 22mm and 24mm. Site visited from 17:15h-18:00h. Weather cloudy, breezy and feeling cool.
 
April 20th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   2 0 0   After two very wet days with no site visit, two large larvae found this evening, measuring 23mm and 27mm. Site visited from 17:40h-18:20h. Weather cloudy, with occasional light rain.
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April 21st   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   1 0 0   One larva found in section D this evening, measuring 20mm. Weather sunny, but slightly breezy. Site visited from 17:35h-18:30h.
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April 22nd   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   2 0 0   Two larvae found this evening measuring 15mm and 24mm. Weather overcast with some rain. Site visited from 17:50h-18:50h.
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April 24th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   6 0 0   Perfect conditions and a later survey start paid off with six larvae this evening. A range of larval sizes including 2 x 14mm, 17mm, 19mm, 23mm and 24mm. Site visited from 19:00h-20:00h, weather fine and mild.
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April 26th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   1 0 0   One 19mm larva found this evening, just prior to heavy rain. Site visited from 18:50h-19:30h. Weather, cloudy and mild, then heavy rain.
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April 28th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found. Site visited from 18:10h-19:05h. Weather cloudy and breezy, some rain.
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April 30th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   11 0 0   A surprising count of 11 larvae found this evening. Larval lengths included 13mm, 15mm, 16mm, 2 x 18mm, 2 x 19mm, 21mm, 22mm, 25mm and 27mm. Weather fine and mild and site visited from 19:00h-20:10h.
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May 1st   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae found. Site visited from 18:30h-19:30h. Weather cloudy and breezy after rain during much of the day.
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May 2nd   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   8 0 0   Another good count with eight larvae found. All measured 21mm or larger. Site visited from 19:00h-20:15h, weather overcast and breezy.
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May 3rd   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   2 0 0   Two larvae found late evening, measuring 17mm and 21mm. A survey for adults revealed no females. Site visited from 19:45h-21:30h. Weather overcast and mild.
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May 4th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae or adults found this evening. Site visited from 20:30h-21:50h. Weather cloudy with some light rain and feeling cool.
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May 5th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae or early adults found again this evening. Site visited from 20:00h-21:45h. Weather cloudy and mild.
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May 6th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   1 0 0   One 23mm larva found this evening and no adults found in a later search. Weather clear and cool, site visited from 20:10h-21:50h.
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May 7th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   5 0 0   Five larvae found this evening, all over 20mm length. A later survey for possible early adults again proved negative. Weather cloudy and mild, with light rain. Site visited from 20:05h-21:50h.
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May 8th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   5 0 0   Another five larvae found this evening, with lengths of 18mm, 27mm, 20mm and 2x21mm. Still no adults found. Weather clear and mild. Site visited from 20:35h-21:55h.
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May 9th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No adults found during a thorough search this evening. Weather cloudy with rain, site visited from 21:30h-22:15h.
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May 10th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae or adults found tonight. Weather clear and mild, site visited from 20:45h-22:15h.
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May 11th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   1 0 0   A single 24mm larva found this evening and no adults in a later search. Weather clear and feeling cool. Site visited from 20:30h-22:00h.
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May 12th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae or adults found tonight. Weather clear and mild, site visited from 20:45h-22:15h.
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May 13th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No adults found tonight. Weather clear and mild. Site visited from 21:30h-22:10h.
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May 14th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No larvae or adults found tonight. Weather clear and feeling quite cold. Site visited from 21:00h-22:15h.
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May 15th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No adults found tonight. Weather clear and feeling cold, especially at the lowest part of the site. Site visited from 21:30h-22:20h.
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May 16th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   Still no adults recorded, but colder this evening than the previous night. Site visited from 21:45h-22:20h.
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May 17th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No adults found tonight. Weather cloudy and mild with occasional very light rain. Site visited from 21:40h-22:15h.
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May 17th   Sherwood Heath SK647675   0 0 0   No adults found. Weather cloudy and mild. Site visited from 22:30h-23:00h.
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May 18th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No adults found. Weather cloudy with rain. Site visited from 21:35h-22:15h.
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May 19th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No adults found. Weather cloudy and very mild. Site visited from 21:40h-22:30h.
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May 20th   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   Despite slightly warmer conditions, no adults have appeared despite the usual thorough site survey. Weather clear and mild, site visited from 22:00h-22:45h.
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May 21st   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No adults found. Weather cloudy and mild. Site visited from 21:50h-22:40h.
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May 22nd   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No adults found. Weather clear and warm. Site visited from 21:50h-22:50h.
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May 23rd   Clipstone Old Quarter SK606670   0 0 0   No adults found. Weather clear and warm. Site visited from 22:00h-23:00h.
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Below:- Arial map showing the survey route we take each night. Sections A, B, C and D are the only areas where larval counts are made. Due to the gradual spread of the colony in some areas of the site, this map was updated in 2011 to incorporate some neccessary extensions along the survey route. The two yellow dots show the two locations (highest and lowest points on site) where the temperature is taken during the season.
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Below:- Arial map that will show the positions of all female Glow Worms at Clipstone Old Quarter during 2012. Updating of this page is dependent on our arrival time back home after surveying.
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