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Glowworms and reptile refugia: |
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Herpetologic Member Joined: 02 Sep 2003 No. of posts: 35  View other posts by Herpetologic |
Posted: 02 Sep 2003
I have been finding that reptile refugia (tin or felt) have been used by glowworm larva. I have recorded glowworms in Sussex, Kent, Hampshire, Essex and Berkshire all underneath reptile refugia In reading I found 9 larva under corrugated tins. Glowworm surveys are mainly focused on counting glowing females during July and August and ever since i found a larva in kent under a reptile refugia I have found them this year aswell. It may be a good way of looking out for glowworm sites. I recently have found another site in Hertfordshire where glowworms are present on the remains of the old railway from London to Braintree. The railway has been cut through by the M11 and I am planning to survey along the Flitchway Country park for more glowworms oh and more reptiles!!!
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calumma Senior Member Joined: 27 Jun 2003 No. of posts: 351  View other posts by calumma |
Posted: 02 Sep 2003 Jon: I'm assuming that the herp records you collect in Kent will find their way to me at some point 
Lee Lee Brady Kent Herpetofauna Recorder | Independent Ecological Consultant |
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David Bird Forum Specialist Joined: 17 Feb 2003 No. of posts: 515 View other posts by David Bird |
Posted: 03 Sep 2003 I have also found them under tins and have been surprised to find them in such large numbers in areas of acid soils where the molluscs they feed on are at a very low level. I have had them on areas of Molinia in the Ringwood forest Hants, and now on an area of Juncus on a quarry spoils area mixed sand and clay near Wareham. I have been informed by our County Ecologist who is an Entomologist that they are known from acid grassland but these populations haave been considered quite uncommon. I have had several other beetles that seem to turn up frequently, the native cochroaches were very common under tins at Ringwood and have Bagworm species on the tins including the rarer Lesser Bagworm. This is a method that most entomologists do not use so records by herpetologists can be important for some species that may be under recorded by their normal methods. British Herpetological Society Librarian and member of B.H.S Conservation Committee. Self employed Herpetological Consultant and Field Worker. |
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calumma Senior Member Joined: 27 Jun 2003 No. of posts: 351 View other posts by calumma |
Posted: 06 Sep 2003 i spoke about this today with Gemma on a site in NW Kent. We found a larval glow worm under a tin. Although i haven't kept a complete record of my glow worm observations, my impression is that larvae are more often encountered under refugia than adults. Details of the UK glow worm recording scheme can be found here. Lee Lee Brady Kent Herpetofauna Recorder | Independent Ecological Consultant |
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David Bird Forum Specialist Joined: 17 Feb 2003 No. of posts: 515 View other posts by David Bird |
Posted: 06 Sep 2003 I cannot ever remember seeing an adult Glow worm under a tin they have all been larvae. I could possibly go through my field data sheets to count the exact numbers found but I may have only put GW and not numbers as after a while I did stop counting I do know that I saw 3 or 4 under some tins. British Herpetological Society Librarian and member of B.H.S Conservation Committee. Self employed Herpetological Consultant and Field Worker. |
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calumma Senior Member Joined: 27 Jun 2003 No. of posts: 351 View other posts by calumma |
Posted: 08 Sep 2003 I emailed Robin Scagell (who helps to collate glow worm records) regarding observations under refugia. He responded with the following and asked me to post it on the forum: Hi Lee, Thanks very much for the record and for the link. I don't have any records from the [site you emailed me about] as far as I can remember. The apparent dearth of records from Kent is partly because the ones online are about 12 years out of date, but comparatively few have come in since then because I have not given major publicity to the survey. Back then I did the publicity on Radio 4 and BBC Wildlife, which brought in hundreds of reports. I have been too busy recently to add the more recent ones -- and I only put online those that are not in people's gardens, for example. It's interesting that you have found so many larvae in this way, though it's a recognised way of finding them. I often look under bits of wood for larvae but even on known sites I don't usually find them. Presumably the refugia you refer to are pieces of corrguated iron or felt (roofing felt?) left around a site -- how big are they? I would very much welcome grid refs for any sites where people find larvae in the future, or of course adults. You can find adults in this way as well but the season for them is much shorter than for larva which may account for the apparent lack of sightings. As glow worms are usually so visible compared with many other insects, we usually rely on the obvious night-time sightings. What would be particularly useful is to find out how far the larvae are found from a known site where the adults are seen. Anecdotal evidence suggests that they can be some considerable distance on some sites (a couple or even a few hundred metres), though on others, such as road margins where there is tarmac on one side and a cultivated field on the other, they probably don't move more than a few yards throughout their life. I'll pass your link on to John Tyler who as a Kent wildlife observer will also be interested. Cheers Robin Scagell Lee Brady Kent Herpetofauna Recorder | Independent Ecological Consultant |
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Herpetologic Member Joined: 02 Sep 2003 No. of posts: 35 View other posts by Herpetologic |
Posted: 09 Sep 2003 Lee I have recently visited the site in Kent where I first found Glowworm Larva under reptile refugia. I have found 12 larva in a small area of grassland next to an ancient woodland. One refugia revealed five Glowworm larva. The survey results were 12 Glowworm larva, and 3 lizards (1 male and 2 young). The size of the felt tiles are about 50cm by 50 cm and were positioned under tall stands of Broom. The results will be winging their way to you ASAP. I will be looking out for glowing females next year and i will be trying to find the glowing larva at night this year if I can. I have found larva in March and al the way to September.
regards JC
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- Glowworms and reptile refugia |