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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Patrick Barkham

EXPLAINED: Glowworms bred in captivity to be released in southern england | Rare Historical Photos

Ecologist Pete Cooper breeds glowworms with a method he perfected during the pandemic.
Ecologist Pete Cooper breeds glowworms with a method he perfected during the pandemic. Photograph: Handout

They once lit up summer nights, people read by their luminescence and they’ve been celebrated by everyone from William Shakespeare to Crowfoot, a 19th-century North American chief.

But glowworms have had their lights dimmed by a cult of tidiness in the countryside, the loss of wild meadows and light pollution.

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