Scottish Glow-worm research

Hi. This feels very odd to be doing this!

 

My name is Charlotte. I am an ex farmhand that had to retire early due to injuries. Now a 3rd year student at SRUC Edinburgh studying BSc Wildlife Conservation Management.

 

My passion is the world of invertebrates, especially Moths and Glow worms.

 

I am conducting research into the Scottish distribution of the Glow-worm (Lampyris noctiluca).

 

For the last 3 years i have been surveying sites to establish if they are present, either historical record or new potential sites. I also spend a lot of time doing desk research, raising the profile of the species or liaising with landowners/managers.

 

Glow worms are barely heard of in Scotland and it is now my lifes work to try and establish population distribution, habitat preferences and I intend, as I progress academically to try and research population genetics.

 

Glow worms (and the females really do glow...its a beautiful sight!), are in trouble in England due to many factors such as artificial lighting, habitat loss and pesticide use.

 

I firmly believe that Scotland could potentially have a good 'reservoir' of them but we still need to survey the vast areas of potential habitat.

 

I also am still passionate about British farming and forestry believing they are partners of invertebrate conservation not in opposition of.

 

For the most part I have funded myself, or rather my partner has funded me with some help from SRUC. 

I came to the conclusion the glow-worms need all the help they can get! The following is the equipment list still needed to fully research this wonderful species. This is not just for myself but to give to volunteer surveyors so they can also monitor their sites and contribute data to the overall Scottish research.

Thermal imaging camera for research into glowing periods compared to temperature of surroundings/vegetation not the actual glow as that is a cold light.
Site monitoring equipment. Dataloggers, soil thermometers, soil and water test kits, spectrometer/lux meters, quadrats, GPS.
Bat detectors
I would also like to raise funds for a moth trap that can be lent out to volunteer surveyors to record moth species and any moth trap intruders (beetles, wasps and flies) on their sites too. This is all in an effort to gather as much data as possible into our nocturnal invertebrate life. Any other species will be recorded. It is not just the glow-worms that need our help all data gathered will be added to databases to enable us to better understand and subsequently help, not just glow-worms but the wider invertebrate world.

Drone......purchased and now being used to start orthomosaic habitat mapping in an effort to help understand the habitat preferences of the glow-worm...THANKYOU!!!!!!!

 

I am soooo aware that times are tough and insects may not be top of many folks agendas. Bees, Butterflies and Dragonflies get all the attention but the other guys need help too and apart from wanting to progress well academically I would love to be able further the knowledge and research of a very charismatic beetle of the Firefly family that we have here in Scotland with the potential to help a species in trouble.

 

If you are unable or do not want to I totally understand. Perhaps you wouldn't mind making my cause known to any potential companies that would consider sponsoring me? Or perhaps contacting me if you would like more information and possibly to conduct a survey yourself, ask me to give a presentation to further awareness (I've had the pleasure of doing a few so far)

You can also 'adopt' a glow-worm or buy a branded beanie hat, magnet or quirky hair accessory please look up the 'support glow-worms' page on the Scottish glow-worms website  https://scottishglowworms.co.uk/supporting-glow-worms/ 

 

Thankyou for reading

 

Charlotte Martin