Dragonflies

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According to a report in the press last week dragonflies are doing well at the moment. Apparently 40% of British dragonflies have increased their range in the last 50 years. I guess this is a consequence of climate change. 

Report From British Dragonfly Society

Dragonflies can be tricky to identify as they often don't stay still for very long. One easy distinction between dragonflies and damselflies is that damselflies rest with their wings folded but dragonflies rest with their wings spread out. This diagram from the Scottish Wildlife Trust website is useful.


Dragonfly families have names like "hawkers" "darters" and "skimmers" which describe the way that they fly. Another complication is that the females are often a completely different colour to the males.
I took this photo a couple of weeks ago and I think it is a Common Hawker and a female from the colouration.
It may even be in the process of laying eggs. The eggs are laid in or above water and the larvae are voracious hunters of other aquatic in vertebrates. It won't be long before we get the first frost and we won't see these beautiful creatures again until next year.

                                                                           Diary
Too busy to set camera traps. The weather continues dry with daytime temps near 19C.



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