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Glow-worms at risk? We’ll need a bit more light to be sure.
PETER FROST sets out to throw some light on a real wildlife mystery.
[John Hartanowicz]

A few years ago Ann and I were exploring the Everglades National Park in Florida. It was late in the afternoon, getting on for six o’clock and in this part of the world you get hardly any twilight at all. Darkness comes just as if someone has switched off the lights.

We walked back along the boardwalk towards the car park, now totally empty apart from our rented motorhome. A car drove in and parked beside us.

A youngish woman got out and said hello. When we replied, she spotted we were English. “Are you enjoying our wildlife?” she enquired. We assured her we were and then she said “Have you got 10 minutes to see something truly amazing?” What could we say? But we did realise it would be completely dark in not much more than those 10 minutes.

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