A Fenland couple believe they have captured rare fireflies using their night-vision CCTV system during Britain’s hottest night of the year.
Carol Upchurch of Parkfield Lane, Wimblington believes that the hot summer has brought fireflies to the UK and to her Cambridgeshire home.
Carol and her partner, Gerald Lilley, were watching TV on Monday night (August 6) when they spotted movement on their home CCTV screen.
Mr Lilley said: “I was just sat down watching TV. If something happens on the cameras I’ll look up. Something just caught my eye.”
Quick-moving glowing dots can be seen on a recording from the front of their house, and the couple believe that they could be fireflies.
Mr Lilley says when he was 15-years-old he used to find the glowing creatures while walking with his friends and family around the Fen.
The 66-year-old added: “I used to live down the Fen and there were no street lights, there was nothing. You used to have to use a torch.
“But my eyes were that good then I could see the road and everything in the dark because we didn’t have a lot of light. I used to see them then and never thought anything of it.”
The couple have lived in their home for more than 40 years and say that until now they’ve never spotted the glowing flies in this area.
Ms Upchurch said: “Well last night [August 8] we had a lot of rain so we haven’t spotted any. But they came when it was warm.
“What are they then? They’re not aeroplanes are they? I didn’t know what fireflies were until my husband told me about them.”
After the sighting Carol took to her local Facebook discussion forum, she said: “My partner and I [have seen] a lot of fireflies going by. If you don’t know they light up.”
She searched up the rare insects on the internet and discovered that they’re not known to be in the United Kingdom. They can be primarily found in America.
Mr Lilley said: “They’re definitely not moths. If you look at the back of them they seem to have lights and they fly fairly fast.
“You just don’t know. They could have come in people’s clothing or on an aeroplane.”
Carol has since shown the video to her sister-in-law Joan who says she’s never seen them in person but on the video “they’re pretty to see”.
• Have you spotted something similar? Do you think they are fireflies? Let us know! Email: harry.rutter@archant.co.uk
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