All you need to know about glow worms, including how and why they glow… <\/p>
Like inch worms (moth caterpillars) and slow worms<\/a> (legless lizards), glow worms are not worms. They are beetles<\/a>, albeit very strange ones. <\/p> The males are conventional enough, but the females are anything but. Lacking wings and retaining the heavy, segmented armour of the larvae into adulthood \u2013 more like flattened millipedes <\/a>than worms, Yes. It is in fact a bit of an oddity that, as well as the wingless female, the larva and the winged male of the glow-worm also glow. However, only the female glows brightly, and these are the \u2018grass stars\u2019 sometimes spotted in short turf on warm summer evenings.<\/p> It is generally accepted that the female glows to allow a male to find her for mating (female moths similarly release pheromone scents to attract partners in the dark). Why the male glows is still not known for certain \u2013 it could be an evolutionary hangover.<\/p> There is also a theory that glowing evolved to serve as a warning to predators that these insects<\/a> contain noxious chemicals and will therefore taste foul. This is analogous to the bright warning colours of wasps, in which case it would be advantageous for males and larvae to glow too.<\/p> You can find glow-worms throughout Britain, but they are more numerous in chalk and limestone areas and in the south. July is peak season for glow-worms: look for their yellow pinpricks of light in woodland rides, hedgerows and meadows. <\/p> Glow-worm larvae prey on snails and slugs.<\/p> The adults live for just two weeks. Once the females have mated and laid their eggs, their eerie lights are extinguished forever.<\/p>What do glow worms look like?<\/h2>
Does every stage of a glow-worm glow?<\/h2>
When to see glow worms<\/h2>
What do glow worms eat?<\/h2>
How long do glow worms live for?<\/h2>