Another Glow Worm?

I've been into the church yard twice this year to look for glow worms, but as the best picture from the first night was taken just after midnight and the second just before, they were on the same day so I can't have both of them for the same day - even if it didn't feel like the same day to me!

I'm off work today which is great, except it's pouring with rain and I've just had the joy of a quote for a new boiler - which isn't cheap but we always knew we needed one. Actually the chap was very professional and if their work is as good as his technical talk they should do a good job... Basically we have an antique solar water heating system and a separate equally aged gas central heating system. While the tap water is currently heated for free, it tends to generate lots more scalding hot water than we can use in summer and not enough in winter. A new boiler and getting rid of the solar water system is the most cost effective solution and probably marginally greener.

Today's blip is a fake female glow worm (Lampyris noctiluca). It's a 9v battery, a battery clip, a resistor and a green LED. We made it on Saturday and used it on Saturday and Sunday night's to try and attract a male glow worm. Basically the females don't fly they glow and the males fly to their glowing. We've looked at the colony for several years now and never seen anything flying towards the females - the literature says you should see the occasional male flying about.

The lure is a LED of similar wavelength (565 nm) of light to the known sensitivity of eyes in males (555 nm). It looks more yellow to me than a real female and is considerably brighter - a super stimulus - and you put it in the grass where other females are displaying and wait and watch. Nothing happened, it seems Hampshire male glow worms say indoors on cool nights while the females are out glowing... If it stops pouring with rain we may go again into the church tonight to have a look again.

The map location is vague, if you want to see them just ask and I can arrange a visit.