Skip to the content
A to Z › After dark › Glow-worm
After dark · Beetles
Glow-worm
Lampyris noctiluca
The female is a wingless, segmented, brown beetle whose tail shines with a steady green light at night.
Size Females up to 2.5cm long
Look for it June to August
Where Rough grassland, hedge banks, woodland rides and old railway lines
I've seen one: add to my list My spotter's list
Crawls after you, leaving a glowing trail. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the glow-worm
Beetle A beetle, not a worm The glowing one is a female beetle that never grows wings. The male looks like an ordinary small brown beetle.
Light A light with no heat The glow is made by a chemical reaction in her tail. Almost none of the energy is wasted as heat.
Why A lamp to call a mate She climbs a grass stem and shines so that males flying overhead can find her.
Off She turns it off Once she has mated she puts out her light, lays her eggs and dies soon after.
Snails A snail hunter The larva eats small snails. It bites them several times, and the bite turns the snail to soup.
Street Confused by street lights Males are drawn to artificial lights and never find the females. Lit-up places lose their glow-worms.
The real thing
Photos of the glow-worm
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
‹
›
×
Out and about How to spot one Walk a grassy bank or an old railway path about an hour after sunset in late June or July, with no torch. Look for small green points of light near the ground. Take an adult with you.
Lend a hand How to help Never take a glowing female home. She cannot fly back, and the colony needs every one.
Following you Ladybird Change bug
Who should follow you? ×
Garden Meadow Pond Log pile After dark
The garden
Ladybird Walks after you, and flies when you get well ahead Bumblebee Buzzes along behind you and hovers when you stop Red-tailed bee Hums after you, bobbing as it goes Honeybee Flies after you, then waggles when it stops Hoverfly Darts after you and hangs dead still in the air Ants March after you in a line Snail Glides after you, leaving a trail Garden spider Lowers itself on a thread of silk
Meadow and hedgerow
Peacock Flutters after you and basks with its wings open Red admiral Glides after you in strong, fast swoops Brimstone Flies after you without stopping for long Orange-tip Flutters after you along the hedge Meadow brown Bobs after you, low over the grass Hummingbird hawk-moth Hovers after you, tongue out Grasshopper Hops after you in long jumps Bush-cricket Hops after you, antennae waving
Pond and stream bugs live on their own page: choosing one takes you there.
Pond and stream
Dragonfly Hunts back and forth after you, hovering to look Damselfly Flutters after you like a butterfly Pond skater Skates after you in quick strokes Whirligig beetles Whirl after you in a spinning group Diving beetle Swims after you, diving and bobbing up Mayflies Dance after you, up and down over the water
The log pile
Stag beetle Walks after you, and takes off with a whirr Ground beetle Sprints after you in bursts Woodlouse Trundles after you, and rolls up if you rush it Centipede Races after you on fifteen pairs of legs Millipede Flows after you on a wave of legs Earthworm Wriggles after you, stretching and shrinking
After dark
Glow-worm Crawls after you, leaving a glowing trail Moths Circle your lamp, bumping into the light Elephant hawk-moth Circles your lamp at dusk Leopard slug Glides after you, slowly, on a ribbon of slime
Bugs from other parts of the world live on their own pages: choose another .
.jpg){kind=link}