Ours are related beetles, though the females, which do the glowing, do not fly. They crawl up vegetation and shine to attract the males, which do fly, and only light up two faint spots if disturbed. The females, with no wings, look like the larvae, which can also manage a couple of spots, which they extinguish if disturbed.

My friend and I had never seen them until the year of the VE day anniversary celebrations. We were in a nearby wood, and saw a green glow on the side of a path. We thought someone had left an LED there for some nefarious purpose! Until we saw the segments when we got close. There was a fairly good colony in that wood, until Thames Water drove a new main through the best bit of it.

Penny