Glowing, Glowing, Gone? The Plight of the Glow-worm in Essex

The glow-worm Lampyris noctiluca (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) is thought to be declining in the United Kingdom. Yet, much of the evidence for this is anecdotal, with a shortage of standardised long-term data to investigate temporal changes in abundance. A long-term transect study from Essex has produced statistical evidence of a decline (75%) in glow-worm abundance since 2001. There is a clear signal of climate warming and drying effects on glow-worm numbers and of local site changes due to a lack of active scrub management. Conservation strategies that mitigate local population losses could be an essential buffer against climate-driven declines in south-east England.

Q&A with Dr Tim Gardiner

Dr Tim Gardiner is a children’s author, ecologist, editor, essayist, poet, songwriter and storyteller. His scientific papers, poetry and prose have been published all over the world.

How widespread are glow worms in the UK?

They’ve been recorded in many places in the UK. As you go further north, populations become more isolated (possibly due to climate). However, there are old records from the Isle of Skye where people were seeing thousands. It’s on the west coast, so a bit milder there. You can check the distribution records on the Glow-worm (Lampyris noctiluca) NBN Atlas page. You can submit your records through the Glow-worm iRecord form. The thing with distribution maps is that they only show where the recorders are and an absence of records doesn’t necessarily mean that the species isn’t there. This is where people can make a real difference – we need more people looking in the places where there are gaps, seeing if they are there and submitting records.

What kinds of numbers would indicate a healthy and sustainable glow worm population?

If you’ve seen about 40, that’s a good population, but even 20 to 30 is a decent number. Whether that’s a viable population is another question. How big does a population need to be to be completely viable in the long term? It’s definitely double figures with at regular counts of numbers in the 30s and 40s. Counts in the 100s appear to be a thing of the past. Ideally, the individuals should also be spread out rather than concentrated in a small area, to reduce the risk of someone mowing the whole lot, unintentionally destroying the population. This is where corridor habitats are important.

How successful is Glow-worm translocation?

It really is too early to tell. I’m not aware of any post-release data, and there certainly hasn’t been enough time elapsed to get any long-term data. There was a site, in south Essex, where they were moving reptiles and they discovered larvae at the same time so they also moved the Glow-worm population. In this instance, the larvae were translocated because otherwise they too would have been doomed – it wasn’t planned and it was not part of scheme to seed an area with Glow-worms. This was at least successful for a few years and there are still some glow worms in that area, but we need the accurate scientific monitoring of these translocations to be certain they work and they don’t jeopardise the population you take insects from. The people doing the translocations need to not only monitor but also to publish their results. And we need to talk about failure as much as success.

Is it known how far males will fly?

They don’t seem to fly that far; they stay quite local. One idea is that male and female larvae aggregate in certain areas and then the males and females are all there together. It makes mating a bit easier. Again, more research is needed.

Literature References

Further Info

entoLIVE

entoLIVE webinars feature guest invertebrate researchers delving into their own invertebrate research. All events are free to attend and are suitable for adults of all abilities – a passion for invertebrates is all that’s required!

entoLIVE is delivered by the Biological Recording Company in partnership with the British Entomological & Natural History Society, Royal Entomological Society and Amateur Entomologists’ Society, with support from Buglife, Field Studies Council and National Biodiversity Network Trust.

The entoLIVE programme is delivered by Biological Recording Company and receives sponsorship from the following organisations:

Learn more about British wildlife

Check out our events on Eventbrite

Amphibians

Amphibians are cold-blooded vertebrates that begin life breathing through gills in water and undergo metamorphosis to develop lungs for terrestrial living. The UK hosts seven native species of frogs, toads, and newts. This webinar will explore their life cycles and ecology, examine the threats they face, and discuss how we can support amphibians in our gardens and community spaces.

This blog features presentations from two amphibian specialists, that will explore the biology and ecology of these fascinating animals, before highlighting the threats that our amphibians face and what we can do to help them. This will be followed by an opportunity to put your amphibian-related questions to our panel!

Amphibians and their Ecology 

Janet Ullman (Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Trust)

Discover the fascinating world of British amphibians, including frogs, toads, and newts. This presentation explores their unique life cycles, habitats and ecological roles. Join us to celebrate the unique role these creatures play in the natural balance of our ecosystems. Perfect for nature enthusiasts and conservation advocates alike!

Amphibian Threats and Conservation

Dr John Wilkinson (Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Trust)

Learn about the challenges facing British amphibians, including habitat loss, diseases, invasive species and roads. We’ll then explore the innovative conservation efforts aimed at safeguarding the future of our frogs, toads and newts, and highlight the importance of protecting these vital species and the steps we can all take to make a difference.

Q&A with Janet Ullman and Dr John Wilkinson

Janet Ullman is the Education Officer for Saving Scotland’s Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAAR) at the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust. SSAR aims to encourage a greater understanding of our amphibian and reptile populations and to protect, restore or create habitat features to allow our amphibians and reptiles to thrive in Scotland.

Dr John Wilkinson is a conservation ecologist who has been working with amphibians and reptiles for over 25 years. He manages Regional, Science and Training Programmes for the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC) and has a particular fascination for toads! John has also authored the Amphibian Survey and Monitoring Handbook and a number of scientific articles and technical reports focusing on herpetology.

What do amphibians eat? 

Janet: Live prey only, they are sensory killing machines. The frogs and toads have those super shooting-out tongues which adhere to prey that swim, crawl, wiggle or buzz by. It’s a wide menu of insects, spiders, woodlice, earthworms (sorry Keiron), small slugs, snails and even small amphibian larvae and metamorphs. It’s pretty much the same for newts but with added small crustaceans in water and voracious predators of frogspawn and tadpoles. Newts smell their prey, whereas frogs and toads are more movement and sight.

What are the main predators of froglets?

Janet: In my experience just about everything will wolf up a froglet, but birds will be on the watch for them as soon as they realise it is that time of year. I’ve watched the carnage of mass emergence when seagulls swooped in.

Can any of the non-native newt species hybridise with our native species?

    John: “Our” great crested newts are closely-related to Italian crested newts and marbled newts, and they can hybridise. Studies have shown this does happen in the UK. The important thing is to monitor where non-natives turn up and what effects they may be having.

    Should we be removing a build up of leaf litter from garden ponds?

      John: Sometimes, yes. A small pond will eventually disappear without management. The best time to remove excess weed and dead leaves from your ponds is late Autumn – when there will be fewer creatures in it but those that are there haven’t yet hunkered down for hibernation. Leave anything you remove on the side of the pond for a few days so any creatures can crawl back in! Check out our Creating Garden Ponds for Wildlife guide for more advice.

        Is it safe to move frogspawn from non-viable puddles to a pond?

        Janet: I would advise yes as long as the pond chosen as a new home is as close as possible, within 1 km is best. Do think about if it is a healthy pond to relocate too, will it have enough prey items, is it full of predators such as fish and does it have the capacity to take more spawn?

        Is pollution in SuDS (Sustainable drainage systems) ponds an issue for amphibians that may colonise them?

        John: A variety of pollutants from our roads (including winter salt) can turn up in SuDS, though ideally (and if the scheme is well-designed) these are filtered out by reeds and rushes that should be part of it. In some circumstances amphibians can be affected, but this will vary by the design and location of the scheme. It’s worth noting that NO SuDS ponds means nowhere for amphibians to breed, so having those ponds has to be better than not!

        What is the one thing that you’d recommend people can do to help our amphibians? 

        Janet: This is hard, surveying is important, but seeing amphibians in urban settings is a wonderful thing and is all due to gardens and public green spaces having the right mix of habitats, especially refugia for animals to hide in, over winter and find prey. Whether in town or the countryside, good habitat is key.

        John: Not everyone is able to create a pond or other habitat on their property, but there may be local community garden or park schemes where you can get involved. Otherwise, consider being an ARC volunteer and recording/monitoring your local species to help inform the efforts for their conservation.

        Useful links

        Amphibian conservation in Scotland

        Event Partners

        This blog was produced by the by the Biological Recording Company as part of the Tayside Biodiversity Partnership Biodiversity Towns, Villages and Neighbourhoods project.

        Learn more about British wildlife

        Check out our events on Eventbrite

        The Mind of a Bee: An Exploration of the Intelligence of Bees

        Most of us are aware of the hive mind—the power of bees as an amazing collective. But do we know how uniquely intelligent bees are as individuals? Lars Chittka draws from decades of research, including his own pioneering work, to argue that bees have remarkable cognitive abilities. He shows that they are profoundly smart, have distinct personalities, can recognize flowers and human faces, exhibit basic emotions, count, use simple tools, solve problems, and learn by observing others. They may even possess consciousness. Chittka illustrates how bee brains are unparalleled in the animal kingdom in terms of how much sophisticated material is packed into their tiny nervous systems. He looks at their innate behaviours and the ways their evolution as foragers may have contributed to their keen spatial memory. Chittka also examines the psychological differences between bees and the ethical dilemmas that arise in conservation and laboratory settings because bees might feel and think.

        Q&A with Prof Lars Chittka

        Lars Chittka is the author of the book The Mind of a Bee and Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary College of the University of London. He is also the founder of the Research Centre for Psychology at Queen Mary. He is known for his work on the evolution of sensory systems and cognition using insect-flower interactions as a model system. Chittka has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of animal cognition and its impact on evolutionary fitness by studying bumblebees and honeybees.

        Do solitary bees show the same navigational ability and memory as the eusocial bees?

        The challenges of spatial navigation for both solitary bees and social bees are similar. They both have to navigate often long distances away from the nest and reliably return to the nest. However, with a honeybee in a colony of 60,000 individuals, if it gets lost, it will die but the colony can compensate for that because there are lots of other workers that can take over. With solitary bees, if they don’t find their back to their nest, their offspring is likely going to perish as well. So there’s additional pressure. Also, solitary bee nests are often more hidden than social bee nests so that increases the challenge. But we don’t know much about solitary bees. There is a world of unknown biology that we should explore more.

        Is there any difference in the learning between queens, workers and drones?

        Male bees are famously lazy. They do not contribute to any work in the colony so people are often quite ready to dismiss them. But their learning is actually not that bad, especially in bumblebees. Males do their own flower foraging and so they also remember flower colours. They are, in fact, no worse than workers in associating colours with rewards and we can also teach them to pull strings just like we can with the workers. Bumblebee queens are basically ‘janes of all trades’. They have to visit flowers, build nests, defend the brood, warm the brood, forage etc. Their brains are very large and they are also very smart learners.

        Honeybees are a little different. Honeybee drones can’t feed themselves; they rely on the workers to get fed. So, they don’t have to learn about the flowers. But if they fail to find a queen to mate with, they need to return to the colony, so they need spatial learning. Their brains are actually quite large, in part because their visual systems are huge – they have very large eyes that facilitate the detection of queens. Honeybee queens, who also don’t have to visit flowers, have relatively smaller brains compared to workers in proportion to their body sizes.

        How long does it take to train the bees in the experiments?

        Some tasks are very simple, like getting them to associate an attractive scent or a colour with a reward. Often two or three trials are enough for the bees to remember them for hours or even, sometimes, for days. Tasks like string pulling can take hours or days to train them. Interestingly, often with these types of tasks, the fastest way for them to learn is to observe skilled conspecifics. In this case, they sometimes get it right after just a single observation (although in many cases it takes a few more). It also depends quite strongly on the individual. So, for any task were testing, we’re finding that there are quite pronounced variations between individuals.

        Is there any evidence that the nectar robbing behaviour by bumblebees involves social learning?

        Long spurred flowers typically require long probosces for bees to get to the nectar. But some of the shorter-tongued bumblebees will actually find a shortcut by biting a hole into the spur and extracting the nectar without pollinating the flowers. Darwin thought that this bee behaviour spread via social learning. The first person who investigated this experimentally was my former PhD student, Elli Leadbeater who found that by default, most bees will visit the flowers in the regular way, but once a single individual figures out how to nectar rob, this technique spreads quite quickly through the colony via social learning.

        Are bees able to pass on negative information to the rest of the colony?

        In bumblebees, we don’t know. In honeybees, the answer is yes. There are specific signals that tell the colony what kind of danger to look out for. There are also so-called ‘stop signals’ that have been investigated by James Nieh and colleagues, Bees have this famous dance language where they can advertise the coordinates, precise distances and direction of a food source to a colony. But if there is a predator present there, another bee will headbutt the dancing bees and give brief vibration pulses that function as a stop signal to interrupt the dancers’ communication to alert them to the predation threat.

        Literature References

        Further info

        entoLIVE

        entoLIVE webinars feature guest invertebrate researchers delving into their own invertebrate research. All events are free to attend and are suitable for adults of all abilities – a passion for invertebrates is all that’s required!

        entoLIVE is delivered by the Biological Recording Company in partnership with the British Entomological & Natural History Society, Royal Entomological Society and Amateur Entomologists’ Society, with support from Buglife, Field Studies Council and National Biodiversity Network Trust.

        The entoLIVE programme is delivered by Biological Recording Company and receives sponsorship from the following organisations:

        More on bees

        Check out the Bees collection on Eventbrite

        Make Your Garden Alive with Deadwood

        Transform your garden into a thriving ecosystem by incorporating deadwood features. This blog highlights the vital role deadwood plays in supporting invertebrates and other wildlife. Learn practical ways to add and manage deadwood in your garden, creating a natural haven that benefits biodiversity while adding rustic charm to your outdoor space.

        Q&A with Caitlin McLeod

        Caitlin McLeod is a Conservation Officer for Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust. Caitlin works on the Species on the Edge programme, with a focus on the East Coast of Scotland and teaches volunteers to identify and survey rare invertebrates such as the Northern Brown Argus butterfly, Small Blue butterfly and Bordered Brown Lacewing.

        Can old Christmas trees be used to create log piles?

        Yes! Old Christmas trees can be cut up and added to log piles, though pine and other coniferous woods tend to decompose slowly compared to deciduous wood – though they can still provide habitats. You can cut off smaller branches to use as ground cover or for mulch, improving habitat for various ground-dwelling species.

        Are all tree species good for deadwood?

        Most tree species are a great addition to deadwood habitats, though it is better to use a variety of species rather than just one, and there are a few things to take into consideration such as using native species, such as oak, beech, ash and elm. Conifers can also be used though they tend to acidify the soil as they break down so it is important to take this into consideration!  The most important thing is to avoid using treated wood as the chemicals can harm wildlife rather than help it.

        Should you drill holes into deadwood to create access for invertebrates?

        Drilling holes in deadwood features such as log piles can certainly help create access for invertebrates like solitary bees and beetles, especially if you create a variety of hole sizes and depths (2-10mm diameter and 2-10cm deep). Creating holes that will collect water is also a brilliant way to support many species of hoverflies whose larvae are aquatic (2-5cm in diameter and varying depths, in a shady spot).

        Is there any point in leaving small pieces of deadwod in the garden?

        Absolutely! Even a small, standalone piece of deadwood can play a crucial role in the survival of many species, at the end of the day it creates habitat no matter the size. Twigs, sticks and leaf litter create habitat for species like woodlice and other decomposers, as well as providing areas of moisture and shelter for amphibians, reptiles and other animals. Over time small pieces of deadwood will also break down and enrich the soil – smaller bits of wood will decompose quicker, promoting the growth of fungi, further benefitting soil health and supporting the broader ecosystem in your garden!

        Useful links

        Event Partners

        This blog was produced by the by the Biological Recording Company as part of the Tayside Biodiversity Partnership Biodiversity Towns, Villages and Neighbourhoods project.

        Learn more about British wildlife

        Check out our events on Eventbrite

        Beginner’s Guide to Garden Bird Nest Boxes

        Invite nature into your garden by providing safe nesting spaces for birds. This blog explores the importance of nest boxes, how to select the ideal one for different species, considering maintenance and where to position them for maximum success. Whether you’re a seasoned birdwatcher or new to wildlife gardening, you’ll leave with practical tips to make your outdoor space a bird-friendly sanctuary.

        Q&A with Hazel McCambridge

        Hazel McCambridge is the lead organiser of Nesting Neighbours at the British Trust for Ornithology and works on data collection and volunteer communication as Scheme Support Officer for several projects, including the BTO Acoustic Pipeline, the Ringing Scheme and the Nest Record Scheme. She is also BTO’s Sustainability Officer and author of the Blue Tit Diary.

        Is it important to clean out nest boxes regularly to prevent the spread of disease?

        For nest boxes it is good to take out the old nest during the winter (legally between September – January), making sure there is no active nesting. This reduces the parasite load which can hibernate over winter and rehome themselves on the chicks once they hatch in the nest. Nest boxes can also become full up with nesting material over the years. Disease isn’t spread in nest boxes in the same way that it is on bird feeders so regular / weekly cleaning is not required. 

        What considerations are needed when installing a nest box camera?

        You can buy nest box kits which include cameras and are fairly simple to install. There are many other small cameras available on the market, you might want to consider if you can run a cable for a wired camera or if you need an unwired camera which can connect to wifi. Remember, it is dark in the box, so it also needs to be a camera with infrared night vision. I tend to avoid the nest boxes with a perspex wall which is used to allow light in for the camera, as you lose some of the important insulation of the box. Make sure to install the camera well ahead of the breeding season (end of Feb at the latest) and ensure it is fastened very securely. 

        How long should you leave an unused nest box before considering moving it?

        If you have considered the guidance on placement (out of direct sunlight, rain, direct flight line to the entrance hole, predator avoidance measures, distance from feeders) and it hasn’t been used after about 3 years it is worth considering if another suitable location is available. We don’t always have options, so it is worth leaving it in place if you only have one location available – in my previous tiny garden I only had one suitable option and it was eventually used after 7 years!

        What is your number one recommendation for supporting garden birds?

        Particularly in urban and suburban locations, birds are losing nesting locations. We are insulating houses and tidying up old trees, so providing a nest box gives a suitable space for a pair of birds to raise their family. Find guidance on nest boxes and free building plans on the BTO website. You can then add even more value to this by monitoring the nesting activity and submitting the details to Nesting Neighbours, to help us understand how climate change and urbanisation are impacting nesting birds.

        Useful links

        Event Partners

        This blog was produced by the by the Biological Recording Company as part of the Tayside Biodiversity Partnership Biodiversity Towns, Villages and Neighbourhoods project.

        Learn more about British wildlife

        Check out our events on Eventbrite