Glow worm season is approaching

Glow worms are enigmatic creatures, culturally important and well loved by people around the world, but in the UK our very own species of glow worm are slowly disappearing.

Glow worm populations have been in decline throughout the UK over the past 20 years, mainly due to habitat loss and fragmentation, light pollution, pesticides and climate change, all causes that are predicted to accelerate in the future, making the glow worm a species for us to be particularly concerned about.  

One aim of the glow worm project is to better understand glow worm populations in the Northwest of the UK. Over the last couple of years, we have surveyed areas of Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria, concentrating on locations with historic glow worm records and confirming whether those populations still exist today.

In some cases, the populations are still there but in others it seems unlikely due to recent housing developments or change of management of the land they were once recorded on. Understanding where glow worms are can inform us on their habitat preferences and what healthy populations look like, whilst also enabling us to better protect them.

With glow worm season approaching, keep an eye out for tiny green glows if you find yourself out and about on late June and July evenings.

If you do spot a glow worm, please let us know or record your sighting and location via the UK Glow Worm Survey.