David Element's Wildlife Web Page Dragonflies and Damselflies 1

David Element

Wildlife Photography

and Digital Video Images

____________Dragonflies and Damselflies 1

SCARCE CHASER Libellula fulva (f) BLACK DARTER Sympetrum danae (m)

MIGRANT HAWKER Aeshna mixta (m) LARGE RED DAMSELFLY Pyrrhosoma nymphula (m)

COMMON BLUE DAMSELFLY Enallagma cyathigerum (f) BROWN HAWKER Aeshna grandis (f)

YELLOW-WINGED DARTER Sympetrum flaveolum (m) BANDED DEMOISELLE Calopteryx splendens (m)

The above is a random selection of species. Further illustrations and information about these dragonflies have been provided on other pages with the exception of:

the Yellow-winged Darter, an uncommon migrant to Britain, distinguished by yellow clouding of the basal area of the wings. The example shown was photographed on Wimbledon Common, London, during a significant migration from the south east during 1995. Such migrations are sporadic and dependent upon prevailing wind assistance. These overspills may also be associated with a population explosion within the normal breeding range. There were several interesting observations to be made about the isolated population of about 60 insects seen at Wimbledon Common. Firstly, the males outnumbered the females by a ratio of approximately 59:1. These odds clearly tipped the balance against establishing a breeding colony and indeed this species continues to defy most expectations of breeding in Britain (for reasons which are poorly understood). Certainly there are colonies breeding at more northerly latitudes in Europe. Although one female was seen ovipositing there was no evidence of breeding success and this may have simply been due to drought conditions which persisted at the site (a dried-up gravel pit). Another observation was that the numbers of dragonflies fell from the initial peak of 60 at a steady rate until just one individual remained after a period of sixty days. One further point of note was the short daily flight period between 11:00 and 15:00 hours. In addition the insects did not adopt the text-book position when at rest - typically they are described as hanging from low vegetation. All of the insects at Wimbledon Common came to rest on vegetation at or very close to ground level and this was presumed to be associated with thermoregulation.

The Brown Hawker, a common large brown insect with fairly indistinct blue and yellow markings most evident in the male and an amber tint to the wings. These dragonflies are confined to the southern half of Britain where they may be observed almost ceaselessly patrolling. They are fiendishly difficult to approach for photography and the best opportunities are often presented by ovipositing females. The flight period is later than that of the similar Norfolk Hawker (see Dragonflies and Damselflies 3 and 5) with little or no overlap in July.

RECOMMENDED REFERENCES:

'The Dragonflies of Europe', R. R. Askew, Harley Books, 1988. ISBN 0 946589 10 0

'The Dragonflies of Great Britain and Ireland', Cyril O. Hammond FRES, Harley Books, 1983. ISBN 0 946589 00 3

'Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Great Britain and Ireland', Steve Brooks, British Wildlife Publishing, 1997. ISBN 0 9531399 0 5: http://www.britishwildlife.com/html/books.html. Signed proof prints from this book may still be available from Richard Lewington at: rlewington@btopenworld.com. A catalogue will be provided by the artist on request.

'Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe', General Editor Klaas-Douwe B Dijkstra, with artwork by Richard Lewington, British Wildlife Publishing , 2006, ISBN 0-9531399-4-8. Although there is some inevitable overlap with the book above for the British species this tremendous new work is very highly recommended for anyone with an interest in European wildlife.

'Dragonflies' The New Naturalist Library 106, Philip S. Corbet & Stephen J. Brooks with colour photographs by Robert Thompson, Collins 2008. Hardback ISBN: 978-0-00-71568-4; Paperback 978-0-00-715169-1. A first rate and very nicely illustrated addition to this famous series.

'Dragonflies and Damselflies of Britain and Northern Europe', Bob Gibbons, Country Life Books, 1986. ISBN 0 600 333 787 (Hardcover); ISBN 0 600 333 410 (Softcover)

'Dragonflies of Surrey', Peter Follett, Surrey Wildlife Trust, 1996. ISBN 0 9526065 1 8 - see: http://www.surreywildlifetrust.co.uk/ for further information about the Surrey Wildlife Atlas series.

'British Wildlife', British Wildlife Publishing, ISSN 0958-0956 contains regular dragonfly reports: http://www.britishwildlife.com/

An excellent and highly informative overview of the (then) current status of British dragonflies written by Dr, Peter G. Sutton was published in 'The Bulletin of the Amateur Entomologists' Society' VOL 62, No. 447 APRIL 2003. ISSN 0266-836X. http://www.theas.org, E-mail: aes@theaes.org

RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

'DRAGONFLYIRELAND' is a superbly informative and well illustrated website for the dragonfly specialist. This site contains many useful references and links: http://www.dragonflyireland.fsnet.co.uk/index.htm

www.dragonflysoc.org.uk is the official web site of the British Dragonfly Society. This site provides detaiuled information about the biology and ecology of the full range of British dragonfly species.

http://naturefg.com/wonders/dragonflies.htm connects to a beautifully presented on-line gallery of 120 images entitled 'Wonders of Dragonfly World'. This international photographic exhibition has been set up by Dragiša Savic : dragita@neobee.net from the Fruska Gora National Park and there are contributions from a range of expert photographers from around the World.