Glow-in-the-dark caterpillars set to shine a light on butterfly secrets - Butterfly Conservation
A unique new conservation project in the Buckinghamshire countryside could be about to start a revolution in conservation.
Butterfly Conservation is working with Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) to train volunteers in a brand new skill: hunting for glow-in-the-dark caterpillars.
The technique has never been widely used to collect official statistics before, and experts say it could make surveying butterflies and moths significantly quicker and easier and reveal hidden secrets about their behaviour and evolution.
Steven Lofting, Conservation Manager for Butterfly Conservation, said: "This really could be a game-changer: at the moment we rely on daytime surveys for these rare and endangered species and that often means trying to spot a dark brown butterfly high up in a tree. If we can just shine a light in the bushes and these caterpillars suddenly glow at us like an electric lightbulb it could make it so much easier and quicker to do surveys of these species: it has the potential to change our understanding of their biology, distribution, abundance and ecology. It's really exciting."
Steven led the first training session for volunteers and BBOWT staff on Wednesday night at the Trust's Finemere Wood nature reserve between Bicester and Aylesbury.
Posted On: 25/04/2025
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