蜜芽传媒

In this episode, Katherine Rundell explores the quiet brilliance of the glow-worm - a creature that once lit homes and battlefields, and now struggles to survive in a world flooded with artificial light. In 1590, long before electricity, a book suggested using glow-worms to illuminate the home. Centuries later, soldiers in the First World War used them to read maps and messages in the dark.

Despite its name, the common European glow-worm is not a worm but a bio-luminescent beetle. The female glows brightest, emerging on summer nights to attract a mate. Their larvae live for up to three years, feeding on slugs and snails much larger than themselves. With precision, they inject their prey with toxic proteins that paralyse and dissolve the body - a slow and silent hunt.

But glow-worms are now in decline. Light pollution confuses males during mating season, disrupting reproduction and driving numbers down. Rundell reflects on our ability to conjure light out of darkness - and warns that if we continue on our current path, we risk extinguishing the natural light that once shimmered in our fields and forests.

Written and presented by Katherine Rundell
Produced for 蜜芽传媒 Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan