Nottinghamshire Glow Worms 2025
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The Glow Worm is without doubt, one of our most fascinating insects. Famous for the ability to produce its own light, the green bioluminescent light emitted by the female Glow Worm has formed the basis of countless fairy tales and folklore over centuries.

Although still regarded by some authorities as being both nationally and locally common, surveys on behalf of the Nottinghamshire Glow Worm Survey, have showed this delightful beetle to be in serious decline across its restricted Nottinghamshire range.

The data collected by a number of recorders over the past 12 years, has helped confirm both a decline and a demise in Nottinghamshire's Glow Worm populations. However, getting people to sit up and take notice has proved to be rather difficult and it doesn't help when those very same authorities continue to denounce any existance of a decline. 

Habitat loss through urbanisation and industrial development, the use of pesticides and herbicides in modern farming practices and the increase in light pollution, are all thought to have contributed to the Glow Worm's decline, but none of these factors are unlikely to have been factors where the Glow Worm has traditionally been found in Nottinghamshire. It's never been a widespread beetle and has always been more or less confined to the Sherwood Forest area, where commercial forestry operations and site management have without doubt contributed towards its decline.

  
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But Nottinghamshire is still fortunate in having (once one of the UK's largest and most famous Glow Worm colonies) at Clipstone Old Quarter, although it too, has suffered a huge drop in Glow Worm numbers. For many years, Clipstone Old Quarter (located within the heart of Sherwood Forest) was synonymous for producing high Glow Worm numbers over a season, and quite often the UK's earliest records of both larvae and females. And as we enter yet another year, there is much to look forward to, despite the recent fall in Glow Worm numbers.
 

Help monitor Glow Worm distribution - contribute your records here  

Members of the public can contribute to the Nottinghamshire Glow Worm Survey and we welcome any Glow Worm records from within VC56 Nottinghamshire. The easiest way to contribute your records, is by clicking on the form on the right and completing the simple form, which takes a few minutes and helps. Contributions will also appear below.

 The form can also be used to send in any old Glow Worm records you may have, as old records are important in helping to determine a more accurate picture of Glow Worm distribution and how it has changed over time. And it is just as useful if we know where Glow Worms are not found, so please remember that negative results from a site are equally as important as positive results and will help our mapping of the Glow Worm's distribution.

Useful Glow Worm links on www.eakringbirds.com

  
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Glow Worm first dates 2008-2025
Refers to female Glow Worms only, not males or larvae 		 
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    2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
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Date of first female   May 27th May 24th May 13th May 30th June 8th May 18th May 23rd June 3rd May 20th May 24th May 31st May 20th June 3rd May 17th May 27th May 21st May 18th
   
 
Nottinghamshire Glow Worm Survey records 2025
Please note that there may be delays in updating this section during the glowing season
     
There has been little coverage so far this year. I surveyed for larvae in the usual sections of Clipstone Old Quarter on April 9th and May 2nd, but recorded no larvae. No doubt, the very dry conditions this Spring, might mean larvae aren't hunting or looking for pupation sites. It could also be that many are in the process of pupation. However, there is some better news, with a record of a larva found in one of the usual locations at Clumber Park on April 14th.

I started looking for glowing females on May 8th and believed it likely that a very early date will be recorded this year, which, in the end, turned out to be May 18th. This equalled the third earliest-ever date of May 18th 2014. But since May 18th, the season continues to fail and there have been records of two Glow Worms on May 30th and June 2nd, with three on June 9th. Coupled with similar counts from the Harlow Wood site, then the alarm bells are starting to ring. Numbers should be well above these by now.

Contributors to the Nottinghamshire Glow Worm Survey 2025

Grateful thanks to the following people, who have contributed records (both positive and negative) during 2025. Nick and Samantha Brownley. Sharon Fidler. Calum King. Jason King. John Maxwell. Trevor Pendleton. Isaac Thorn. Graeme Turner. Mick Yaxley. 		 
  
Surveyed   Site name   Grid ref   Site type/habitat   Qty   Notes   Recorder
April 9th   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   0   No larvae recorded   TP.
April 14th   Clumber Park   SK644773   Woodland edge, grassland and wide roadside verge   1   Single larvae found in leaf litter/under branch by day, from one of the known Clumber Park locations   NB. SB.
April 24th   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK60663   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   1   Single larvae found by day   SF.
May 2nd   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   0   No larvae recorded   TP.
May 8th   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   0   The season's first survey for female Glow Worms, on an evening where the temperature soon dropped below 8C, saw no females recorded in sections O,L,M,K,J,D,C,B and A.   TP.
May 10th   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   0   No Glow Worms recorded. Survey sections O,L,M,P,N,I,F,S,E,D,C,K,J,B and A were walked.   TP.
May 11th   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   0   No Glow Worms recorded. Survey sections O,L,M,K,J,D,C,B and A were walked.   TP.
May 12th   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   0   No Glow Worms recorded. Survey sections O,L,M,K,J,D,C,B and A were walked.   TP.
May 13th   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   0   No Glow Worms recorded. Survey sections O,L,M,K,J,D,C,B and A were again walked.   TP.
May 14th   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   0   No Glow Worms recorded , on a cooler night than yesterday. Survey sections O,L,M,N,I,F,J and K were walked, in view of the low temps.   TP.
May 15th   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   0   No Glow Worms recorded. Survey sections O,L,M,K,J,D,C,B and A were surveyed.   TP.
May 18th   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   2   The first female Glow Worms recorded this evening, both found within a metre of each other in Section L. Survey sections O,L,M,P,K,J,D,C,B and A were surveyed.   TP.
May 21st   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   1   A single larva recorded.   MY.
May 27th   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   0   Despite what seemed ideal conditions, of overcast skies and a mild temperature following rain for much of the day, no Glow Worms were recorded. Survey sections O,L,M,K,J,D,C,B and A, were surveyed.   TP.
May 29th   Harlow Wood   SK555565   Coniferous plantation, with areas of recent clearfell   2   Two Glow Worms recorded.   JK. CK.
May 30th   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   2   It seems to be a very poor season, or an extremely slow start, with very low counts recorded anywhere in Nottinghamshire this season. Just two Glow Worms recorded this evening. Sections P.N.I.F.D.C and O, were surveyed.   JM.
June 2nd   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   2   Another very poor count, with just two females recorded glowing from areas shaded from the moonlight, in Section J this evening.  Sections O,L,M,K,J,D,C,B, and A were surveyed.   TP.
June 6th   Harlow Wood   SK555565   Coniferous plantation, with areas of recent clearfell   2   Two Glow Worms recorded.   JK. CK.
June 9th   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   3   Two Glow Worms recorded this evening, with females in Sections L, K and D. Survey sections O,L,M,K,J,D,C,B and A, were surveyed.   TP.
June 9th   Sherwood Heath   SK647675   Grass and heather heathland and roadside verge   0   No Glow Worms recorded.   TP.
June 9th   Budby (Swinecote Road)   SK627688   Grass verge, with small area of heathland   0   No Glow Worms recorded.   TP.
June 9th   Budby (Netherfield Lane)   SK608705   Deciduous woodland and riverside habitat   0   No Glow Worms recorded.   TP.
June 10th   Sherwood Forest   SK606679       1   A (presumed) single female. No count or other information given.   GT.
June 11th   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   6   Six females found across the site this evening.   JM.
June 13th   Harlow Wood   SK555565   Coniferous plantation, with areas of recent clearfell   14   An improvemnt on recent counts, with 14 females recorded this evening.   JK.
June 18th   Harlow Wood   SK555565   Coniferous plantation, with areas of recent clearfell   56   A pronounced improvement, with a total of 56 females recorded this evening.   JK. CK.
June 23rd   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   14   14 females recorded this evening. Sections O.L.M.K.J.D.C.B and A were surveyed   TP.
June 23rd   Sherwood Heath   SK647675   Grass and heather heathland   42   42 females reported.   IT. GT.
June 23rd   Cockglode Wood   SK643674   Grass and heather heathland   1   A (presumed) single female. No count or other information given.   GT.
July 3rd   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK608674   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   2   Only two Glow Worms recorded across the usual survey sections this evening. This is an amazingly poor count for this site, on this date.   JM.
March 3rd   Clipstone Old Quarter   SK644773   Former Pine plantation and grass/scrub strip   0   0   TP.
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