Common Darter
by Ian Bushell
Yesterday afternoon, at the bottom set-side in Village Green, I was chatting with an old chap who, as a boy had played in these fields, when I saw a pair of dragonflies flying by.
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Southern hawker
A late summer southern hawker photographed in the reserve last week by Clive Knight. The southern hawker’s flight period runs from the end of May right through into November but each individual dragonfly lives for only around six weeks. This one, to judge by it’s faded colours and torn wings, is approaching the end of its life.
The summer’s drought made difficulties for our dragonflies. Many of the shallow pools along the Lambrok dried up completely and the big pond, Grand Central Station for our Odonata, was reduced to a mere puddle. Not only do all dragonflies and damselflies need standing water for successful breeding, but so do their flying insect prey: nowhere to lay eggs, nothing to eat, not a good year.
How to tell a dragonfly from a damselfly
Dragonflies and damselflies are closely related cousins in the Odonata family but it isn’t difficult to tell them apart.
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Broad bodied chaser
Have you seen the male broad bodied chasers fighting for territory in spectacular aerial dog fights over the pond? There were at least ten of them yesterday, as well as two females laying their eggs in the pond’s shallow margins. If you’re passing, pause and watch; here is a video to help you with identification.
Header picture: broad bodied chaser (Libellula depressa) © Simon Knight.
How to tell a dragonfly from a damselfly
Dragonflies and damselflies are closely related cousins in the Odonata family but it isn’t difficult to tell them apart.
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The Insects are Here!
by Simon Knight
In my last post I said I was going after young grasshoppers and crickets.
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These few warm days have brought the reserve to life.
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Broad bodied chasers
Dragonflies were among the first winged insects to evolve, around 300 million years ago, long before there were dinosaurs. Back then oxygen levels in our atmosphere were much higher than they are now, and dragonflies evolved into giants with wingspans like eagles. Now, the emperor dragonfly, the largest of Britain’s 36 dragonfly species, has a wingspan of a mere 11cm.
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Common Darter
By Ian Bushell
A male Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) resting on the wooden footbridge over the Lambrok tributary. At the pond, there were six male Common Darters protecting their own patches and I was lucky enough to get a picture of this pair mating.
A mating pair of common darters photographed near the pond by Ian Bushell.
Header picture: common darter, by Ian Bushell.
Brown Hawker
A brown hawker female, Aeshna grandis, spotted in the park by Ian Bushell on Tuesday afternoon.
Continue reading “Brown Hawker”2019 review – part 4
Odonata
We have added three species of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) to our species lists this year. They have raised our total to a round dozen.
Continue reading “2019 review – part 4”Hatch!
Extraordinary little video of an emperor dragonfly hatching into its final adult form.
Published on Jul 31, 2012 by wildvod.
Emperor Dragonfly larvae emerging from the kitchen garden pond at the Tyntesfield National Trust Estate in June 2012.
We have positively identified our emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator) and to celebrate here are five fascinating facts about dragonflies.
Continue readingRuddy darter?
This is, without doubt, a picture of a ruddy darter (Sympetrum sanguineum). We rarely use as a headline any pictures that have not been taken in the park but this one was taken in Chemnitz, Germany by Jörg Hempel and has been downloaded from Wikimedia Creative Commons
Click here to find out why
Damsel fly or dragonfly?
It is easiest to tell the difference between the two when they are at rest; then a damselfly’s wings are folded along its body while a dragonfly’s wings are outspread, held at right angles to its body.
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A broad bodied chaser
A male broad bodied chaser at the Dog Pond, seen and photographed by Ian Bushell last week.
Continue readingLoss of insect species
The media has made much of a recent meta analysis, Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers, published in the journal Biological Conservation. Researchers Francisco Sanchez-Bayo and Kris A.G. Wykhuys have come to conclusions so frightening that even the newspapers couldn’t find the words to make it scarier than it really is.
Continue reading “Loss of insect species”Insect Life
An email today from a reader:
Dear FoSCP,
I came across this lovely specimen yesterday whilst out walking my dogs. Sunbathing on the bench opposite the stream (it was, not me!). Can you tell me what it is?
Thank you
Simes Handley
Assessing Wiltshire’s housing plan
Let’s go back to the documents that were submitted to the Secretary of State on July 31st: in that list are Sustainability Appraisal Documents, among which is Annex 1 A9 Trowbridge.
Southern hawker
This is the third species of dragonfly that has been photographed in the park and identified this summer: a southern hawker (Aeshna cyanea). The other two are the scarce chaser (Libellula fulva) we reported on 14th June, and a broad-bodied chaser (Libellula depressa) photographed and identified by Ian on 29th June.
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Female broad-bodied chaser
attracting rare species
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 