Data resulting from Glow Worm surveys at Clipstone Old Quarter (Sherwood Forest) during the course of 2018, showed a clear peak in female numbers between July 5th and 9th.

Nottingham University students Graham Smith and Harry Huntingdon who conducted the surveys, reported peak counts of 76 females on July 5th, a maximum of 83 females on July 7th and still 80 present on July 9th. To have three successive high counts over a six day period is unusual and has usually been indicative of low numbers of males around at the time.

Our highest count for Sherwood Heath was of 61 females on July 1st, which coincided with a small peak in numbers of 12 females at Budby SF the same night. Graham and Harry did not survey Clipstone Old Quarter between June 30th and July 3rd, but we feel that there was nothing in the numbers recorded before or after these dates, to suggest high numbers had been missed.

Our counts from Sherwood Heath, represented an unexpected resurgence in Glow Worm numbers there, after the record counts of over 200 females in 2008 and only low single figure counts since until 2018. It was pleasing that Glow Worms were found over most of the site and just one large section failed to produce any females during the course of the Spring and Summer.

An enormous amount of surveying effort was again put in by Martin Dale and Ludwik Michalek again this year, which proved successful on a number of occasions and no doubt will spur them on to greater things in 2019. Our very grateful thanks go to all those who took part in the Nottinghamshire Glow Worm Survey this year.

Edited survey accounts kindly sent to us and originally written by Martin Dale.

Sunday May 27th 2018 .. I teamed up with Ludwik Michalek again this year and accompanied by Anna Kulpa, we set out for an early survey of the southern end of Clipstone Forest (Sherwood Pines) alongside Rainworth Water. We arrived early on a pleasantly mild evening and whilst still light, decided to walk into the forest, west along a disused mineral line from Bilsthorpe that conveniently took us back over the A614 into the woods. As the light faded we descended into a deep cutting and took a well worn mountain bike track up the bank to head for the main east-west ride where Glow Worms had been recorded in 2013 by Andy Lowe.

None found there so we peeled off down a narrow overgrown path through the trees to get down to the river bank. Within no more than 30 yards, there was our first Glow Worm of the year. After taking a quick peek at the river (audible in spate with the recent rain) we headed into an adjacent clearing and placed two lures down, before heading further in over a low sward of grass and light scrub. Not but a few metres on and our second female found, followed by more and more. Great team work paid off as we fanned out to scour the transect for all we could find. Much to our surprise, a total of 25 females - three already with males.  Several larval glows were noted on our way round with one peculiar bright and rapidly moving glow under foliage fading and disappearing left us all perplexed as to what it could have been. Returning to the point where we came in, we found that no males had been attracted to our lures. We also noted that barring the first female in undergrowth on the path, all other females were located within the clearing. 

Martin Dale

Thursday June 7th 2018 .. I teamed up with Ludwik Michalek and Phil Parry for a second visit to the Black Hill area of Clipstone Forest. The intention was to quickly check the transect we found 24 females in on the 27th May and then to look at other areas east and west along the line of Rainworth Water.

Our route would initially be along the northern side of Rainworth Water, before crossing over the river to the south side, to survey any similar habitat up to the riverbank and around Damside Covert.

Moving on to the transect previously surveyed on May 27th, just four females were found in broadly the same area. Progress was slow due to surprisingly long grass and the Bracken having grown up in the intervening days since, and now wet with the fresh precipitation. We then headed south to cross river at what was presumed from the map to be a bridge, but turned out to be a ford, so time to get our feet wet as well!

Now on the south side of Rainworth Water we surveyed east and west along 2 open transects parallel with the river. The habitat appeared to be quite different, with high grasses and boggy areas that didn't look too favourable. No glow worms were found here and it was becoming clear that the wet and cool conditions and the late hour (now after midnight) suggested that our chances of finding any were diminishing. Maybe one to do again in better weather perhaps but the habitat was less attractive that found north of the river.

Thursday June 28th .. Teamed up with Ludwik Michalek again. We decided to survey one of the dismantled railway lines leading towards Clipstone Forest. Now part of the national cycle route, we picked it up leading north from the outskirts of Rainworth at SK605584, towards the south-west corner of the forest. Disused and dismantled railway lines seem to have gained near mythical status among naturalists studying Glow Worms elsewhere in the UK, so I was anxious to check yet another one, on my continuing quest to see if this assertion holds true for Nottinghamshire.

Access was very easy from a new build corner of Rainworth and once on the former colliery line, it quickly descended into quite a deep sandstone cutting with a mixture of tussock forming Grasses, Heather and scrub with some bare sandstone areas. After about a mile, the line met the point where Rainworth Water enters a culvert, to then head west down towards a water treatment works near to Rainworth Heath. From there we picked up the track leading east into Clipstone Forest, initially going under a concrete bridge carrying the rest of the former line north to Clipstone. Up to this point, no glow worms had been found despite some promising looking habitat in the cutting.

Passing three ponds to our left and Rainworth Water to our right, we headed into the south-west corner of the forest and quickly surveyed a small clearing under some trees. None there, so carried on to find our now familiar transect centred on SK616601 to find just one female in what was by this date, chest high bracken. Very difficult to survey leading us to conclude that there may have been many more there, that we could neither see or realistically find.

Returning to the main ride, we decided to continue surveying on our way back and were pleased to find 3 females in the bracken on the north verge of the ride and one on the south side, include one right in the middle of the path! Also much in evidence, several bright glows from larvae down in the short grass on the north verge edge. One located in torch light turned out to be just 10mm size and it was heartening to see larval hunting behaviour at Clipstone Forest, following the now familiar pattern seen at other sites locally and in captivity.

In conclusion, once again Glow Worms seem to be mostly confined to areas of the forest rather than tracks in open land. Despite surveying many disused mineral lines in Notts, I'm yet to find a single glow worm on one, but I'll keep looking. Finally a big thank you to Ludwik for again providing transport and his company on the evening.

Martin Dale

We have studied Clipstone Old Quarter's Glow Worms since 2008 and spent hundreds of hours in the field, most of which have been after dark. In that time, we have learned a great deal about them, but although there is still much more to learn, it has now become physically impossible for us to continue recording there on a nightly basis.

But we do still intend to survey the site occasionally, though from now on, we will be putting most of our efforts surveying other known sites, in addition to looking at potentially new sites as part of the Nottinghamshire Glow Worm Survey.

Following what has been the coldest Winter for a number of years, with some snow and frequent frosts, 2018 is already showing the signs of being a late season. Low daytime temperatures and often wet conditions, made it pointless beginning larval surveys any earlier than mid-March.

The first larva was recorded on March 26th, appearing rather thin after over-wintering. Early April has seen conditions become more mild and larvae have been found regularly since April 6th. This has allowed us to begin looking at the available larval size data, finding that Glow Worm larvae at Clipstone Old Quarter are continuing to become smaller. The average larval length for the same period in previous years is 19.14mm.

The listed 2018 average minimum and maximum temperatures, includes the data from November 2017 to April 2018 (www.metoffice.gov.uk). Based on the current temperature values and any similarity to previous years, we were predicting that the first female Glow Worm would appear at Clipstone Old Quarter around May 29-31st 2018.

Our prediction eventually proved to be about a week out, after the first female Glow Worm of the year was found on May 24th. The fine, warm and often sunny weather, obviously speeded up pupal development, after the cold Winter had meant a late start to post-overwintering larval activity.

Below is an arial map showing both former and current survey area and routes taken each evening. For female Glow Worms, sections O, K, J and D may again form our survey route this year. Larval surveys are made in sections A, B, C and D. The two yellow dots show the two locations (highest and lowest points on site) where the temperature is taken during the season.