Fireflies trip

[melinda]

i like how the fireflies glow at night, it's such as beautiful. it's a shame i was not able to take a pic but i will be looking forward to taking one.

--
i won £1000 with the help of BT

[apple]

Let me know if you see any.

[apple]

Nov 7, 2006 12:17:19 GMT apple said:

Those pictures of glowing larvae of Lamprohiza that I took ( don´t know which specie is,can be either paulinoi, mulsanti, splendidula or an unknown type...) are the only ones that I ever saw. The glowing behaviour on larvae I guess that was never photographed on this specie.

*2010 edit* :
Those pictures are of Lamprohiza mulsanti, a new specie for our local fauna ( but not for science).
And yes it´s true, it never were photographed before.

Geres: One of the 3 primitive remaining indigenous forests ( Mata do Cabril) of this national park, did suffered a forest fire that it did destroyed more than 700 hectars, on the last August month.
Let´s hope that only the less resistant plants did died on the process and that the big old trees remained alive.






Geres




mariz.org/blog/tag/personal/




www.seguirviagem.com/2010/07/momentos-romanticos-geres/



www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Portugal/North/Braga/photo908169.htm


farm1.static.flickr.com/54/161213707_69d467677a.jpg?v=0

Carris, very high in the mountains.

Let´s hope that these places don´t get destroyed as well.


My balance for 2010, is that some places did presented more fireflies than usual, but others ( the big major part) did registered a decrease.
But, at least, some completely new behaviors were observed and there are new records for many different places.
Also, some new species for the national fauna were found as well.
An huge bioluminescent fungus was found in rotten oak wood in the Northwest zone... It covered more than 30 cm in lenght in some parts of the trunk!
The color of the light was whitish ( though I have been observing green light in some oak wood that I have on my garden).
I still think that´s too early to get a definitive conclusion... I have been observing these animals since I´m a child, but only have been able to gather consistent data about them, since around 2004 ( however I have some scattered reports from 1988 to 2004). The decrease have been a dominant note ( with few exceptions). But I´m just reluctant to accept some points, because the surface covered by my field work and collaborators, is a bit insignificant considering all the country surface area ( though a bit widely distributed, but nothing too much). However and regarding certain specific places, that I have been studying for years, a decrease starts to draw the rule. Here in Portugal, however, the primitive flora, instead of decreasing in distribution area ( due to human influence) has been increasing and usually all these places have firefly different species. So I can only give conclusions for the exact places studied and not as a global national tendency.
I´ll ask other countries ( UK, Taiwan, USA, Spain, etc...) scientists for the 2010 balance.

[coyote]

What a beautiful forest! Are forest fires a regular occurrence there? Our California redwood forests occasionally suffer forest fires, but the trees are adapted to survive quick fire sweeping through. The seeds don't sprout unless opened by the flash heat of the fire, so fires actually help the trees to reproduce (the fires also burn away undergrowth that would otherwise compete with the redwood seedlings for nutrients, moisture and sunlight). I hope your forest can grow back as soon as possible.

[ness]

Thank you for sharing the information on the firelfies. It would be hard to get an accurate picture or the entire population of any species. Localised studies are often very valuable

The countryside is breathtakingly beautiful!

[apple]

Oct 17, 2010 19:19:56 GMT coyote said:

What a beautiful forest! Are forest fires a regular occurrence there? Our California redwood forests occasionally suffer forest fires, but the trees are adapted to survive quick fire sweeping through. The seeds don't sprout unless opened by the flash heat of the fire, so fires actually help the trees to reproduce (the fires also burn away undergrowth that would otherwise compete with the redwood seedlings for nutrients, moisture and sunlight). I hope your forest can grow back as soon as possible.

Yes, forest fires are a regular ocorrence but mainly on the Mediterranean area ( lowlands, etc...), not so much on high humid mountains.
I´m not sure how´s the forest, unfortunately nothing was published yet to resume the last August forest fire in Mata do Cabril.
I hope that most of the dominant trees did survived.

Oct 18, 2010 20:57:08 GMT ness said:

Thank you for sharing the information on the firelfies. It would be hard to get an accurate picture or the entire population of any species. Localised studies are often very valuable

The countryside is breathtakingly beautiful!

Thanks a lot!

[apple]

Glow worm evenings and walks 2011

If you know of a glow-worm event please let us know. So far we've heard of these:
Sunday 12 June Wisley and Ockham Commons, Woking, Surrey. Surrey Wildlife Trust
Friday 24 June Royal and Bagmoor Commons, Elstead, Surrey. Fully booked Surrey Wildlife Trust
Saturday 25 June Brush Hill, Princes Risborough, Bucks. £5 adults, £2.50 children. Booking essential
Friday 8 July Frays Local NR, Uxbridge, Middx London Wildlife Trust
Saturday 9 July Rushcombe Bottom, Corfe Mullen, Dorset. Twilight Walk. £3. Dorset Wildlife Trust.
Saturday 9 July Brush Hill, Princes Risborough, Bucks. £5 adults, £2.50 children. Booking essential
Tuesday 12 July Aston Rowant NNR, Lewknor, Oxon. £3.00 Booking essential.
Thursday 14 July St Wulstan's Nature Reserve, Upper Welland, Worcs. Worcestershire Wildlife Trust Malvern Group.
Friday 15 July Chosen Hill, Cheltenham/Gloucester. Wildlife Watch Nightwalk. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust
Saturday 16 July Brush Hill, Princes Risborough, Bucks. £5 adults, £2.50 children. Booking essential
Friday 22 July Aston Rowant NNR, Lewknor, Oxon. Booking essential.
Friday 22 July Claylands Nature Reserve, Bishops Waltham, Hants. Glow Worm Spotting. £2.50, children free. Hants & IoW Wildlife Trust.
Tuesday 26 July Glow Worm Hunt, Tarka Trail, Yelland, Devon. Devon Wildlife Trust



www.glowworms.org.uk/