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Dear residents of Parwich.  I am after your help!

My name is Jim, a Derbyshire naturalist and former countryside warden.  For almost 20 years I have had a fascination with one of the UKs most enigmatic insect, the Common Glow-worm and most evening through June and July I am out searching the Derbyshire countryside to try to locate and record the species which is actually a type of beetle and not a worm at all.

Many people are totally unaware that Glow-worms (a close relative of Fireflies) even exist in Derbyshire or even the UK. They do and Derbyshire is quite a good place to find them, especially in the limestone areas of our county, where they may be found in many of the limestone dales.

Unfortunately, the number of populations of this species has declined over the past century through changes to land use, use of pesticides and increased levels of light pollution. Therefore I am trying to locate as many of our surviving Glow-worm populations as possible.

Over the last five or six years I have been trying to find new i.e. unrecorded populations as well as visiting sites with historical records, some dating back to the mid 1900’s. 

There are no records that I am aware of for the immediate area around Parwich. The nearest populations being in Ballidon Dale where I saw them in 2018 and on private land a little farther east towards Brassington.  There is also an old record for the Tissington Trail near Newton Grange. 

It is possible that Glow-worms do exists around Parwich village and some of you may be aware of them, or have seen them there in the past, perhaps lighting your way home with their yellow bioluminescent glows, down one of the lanes on a summer evening.

Glow-worms are usually found on unimproved pastures & meadows especially steep banks or dale sides, where they feed upon slugs and snails.

I’d be grateful if anyone who may know of the whereabouts of any Glow-worms, even memories of seeing them decades ago around Parwich (or indeed anywhere else in the county) could let me know via my email address

More information about Glow-worms can be found on the UK Glow-worm Survey website (www.glowworms.org.uk ) that Glow-worm enthusiast Robin Scagell has run for almost 30 years.  I now assist Robin with the survey as well as conducting my own searches in Derbyshire.

Many thanks

Jim Alder

UK Glow-worm Survey records verifier

derbyshireglowworms@gmail.com

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No, the two white flying ‘figures’ were a beautiful pair of Egrets, just outside Bradbourne near the brook and visible from the narrow winding section of Brackendale Lane – unfortunately the photo is of poor quality.       And some of you may have spotted a (pair of?) Red Kites just outside Parwich a week or so ago.  We are lucky to get such diverse wildlife. 

Saskia T

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In the last few days, several people have spotted a kingfisher in the vicinity of the pond by the pub, and along the brook that runs behind The Fold….

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This morning I collected my fourth rescue hedgehog from Derby Hedgehog Rescue, I got to know the wonderful lady who runs the rescue when I found a baby hog in my garden in trouble., she nursed him back to health and he returned to Wheatsheaf cottage with a friend who needed a home.
I collected another female just before the winter who had reached the optimum 600 grams to be able to hibernate safely.
This spring they have visited the feeding station regularly, the garden has gaps in the fencing to allow the hogs to roam the distances they need, I don’t use any chemicals in the garden and like to think they may eat some of the slugs and snails.
Hedgehog numbers are declining why not help them out by putting out a shallow dish of water and if you can put food out for them, either cat food (not the fishy sort) or even better specialist hedgehog food. Jill L

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I used to keep bees when I lived in NE Norfolk some years ago and greatly enjoyed the hobby. I’m keen to do so again up here in Alsop, but I’m concerned that nectar and pollen from our local trees and flora might not be sufficient to sustain a colony year round. Is our area a relative desert for honeybees?

I should say that I’m not so much interested in getting loads of honey; just giving the bees a place to thrive and for me to study them.

Grateful for any advice.

Anthony C

Alsop en le Dale

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Dusty Bees by David G

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Does anyone know about bats? This was hanging on my wall this morning. Is it poorly? Should I do anything with it or just leave it alone? Fiona H

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British summer time officially starts tomorrow June 21st, and with such glorious sunshine over the last few day, perhaps 2017 is going to be a summer to remember. Some of our local photographers have been sending in sightings of insects found in the village, some are harder to identify than others. We wonderered how many different species we typically get in Parwich?

If you spot an unusual insect, why not take a photo and send it to Parwich@hotmail.co.uk, we will create a montage, it could be interesting to see how many species we share our lovely village with.

Image 1 By Saskia T

An almost perfect hexagonal cluster of tiny bright green eggs, each no more than 1 mm, on the underside of a red valerian leaf. Can anyone tell me what these will turn into? I’ve not managed to find the answer yet despite some googling. Thank you Saskia

Can anyone identify these?

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Image 6 Is another Broad-bodied chaser, it may be the female which is brown, the male is vibrant blue see JFS photo of the male from last weekBroad-bodied Chaser

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A lovely sharp photo by JFS of a male Broad-bodied Chaser on Parwich pond yesterday.

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