Dragonfly ID day
Common Darter Dragonfly
Emperor Dragonfly laying eggs in pond
I spent a superb day, organised by the Southdowns NP and led by Simon Linington of the British Dragonfly Society, totally absorbed into the high-speed world of dragonflies and damselflies. A glimpse into the alien world of an insect that may have not looked so different in the Carboniferous 300 million years ago.
We saw four species of dragonfly (Common Darter, Ruddy Darter, Southern Hawker and Emperor) and three species of damselflies (Blue-tailed, Small Red-eyed and Azure).
The numbers of all UK dragonfly species, apart from the Emerald, are on the rise. At least one piece of great news about the insect world which seems to be in catastrophic freefall at the moment. Dragonflies are one of the best indicators of environmental health as they are extremely sensitive to pollution. Inhabiting two worlds, aquatic and aerial, problems in either would immediately impact them.
There was no doubt that the male Emperor Dragonfly ruled the pond although he had a full-time task seeing off intruders sometimes two as a time. Focussed on his task of dispatching rivals from his territory the male would sometimes fly so close you could hear the chatter of his wings. Photographing this was another thing though, that had to wait until the sun went in or a female Emperor Dragonfly diligently laid her eggs beneath the water surface, oblivious to humans.
