Dragonflies in Worcestershire 2013

Mike Averill

It seemed like a very long cold winter this year (2012-2013) and the lateness of any dragonfly records reflected this. Following a cold start in January and February, March was one of the coldest months since the 1960’s. Relentlessly the cold weather continued into April and then finally temperatures began struggle in to double figures in the third week of that month. Just as some species were beginning to appear it turned cooler again for a couple of weeks in mid May, only perking up at the end of the month. In terms of dragonfly emergences, this had a dramatic effect delaying all species by between one and six weeks compared to the earliest times in 2008-2012 (Table 1), except for the Small Red-eyed Damselfly which emerges later in the year anyway.

In terms of individual species, all the regular species were seen plus an occasional uncommon one: the Red-veined Darter which was seen at Grimley but not at its usual location at Pirton. The Club-tailed Dragonfly was 17 days late to emerge and the numbers counted were somewhat lower so perhaps some individuals will have delayed their emergence until next year. This can happen with a species that has a synchronised emergence because it is important for all the males and females to emerge together. This is particularly vital for a species like this that disperses widely after emergence. The Beautiful Demoiselle seems to expand its range each year appearing in more locations on the River Severn and even at Yardley near the River Cole. Croome Court had less Small-red Eyed Damselflies than last year but the same species was also seen at Lower Smite Farm. The fact that this species wasn’t late emerging compared to other years may be explained by the fact that it normally emerges later in the summer and so would have had time to recover from the early cold spell. The Four-spotted Chaser tends to pop up in more locations than it used to so it was nice to have proven breeding reports from Penny Hill, near Martley.

The unexpected arrival of the Scarce Chaser at Hillditch Pool, Hartlebury in 2012 gave rise to the possibility of a breeding colony there and so it was with excitement that the first larval cases were found in June this year. Whether such a small group will be self sustaining will make an interesting case study.

Dragonflies attracted to moth traps are not all that common and certainly not as common as in the United States where warm evenings and crepuscular activity often leads to dragonflies being drawn to light. In Worcestershire we had two instances via Val Weston this year: a Brown Hawker in Acocks Green and a Common Darter at Monkwood. This is nothing to do with feeding of course, merely the response to light in the way that birds and other day flying insects are attracted to lighthouses or ships lights.

For those who are eagerly awaiting the new national Dragonfly Atlas, the launch date will be May 2014 and a pre publication offer can be found at: http://www.field-studies-council.org/publications/pubs/atlas-of-dragonflies-in-britain-and-ireland.aspx

Common Name	Scientific Name	Earliest sighting 2008-12	Earliest sighting 2013	Days later than 2008-12
Large Red Damselfly	Pyrrhosoma nymphula	09/04/2011	04/05/2013	25
Beautiful Demoiselle	Calopteryx virgo	23/04/2011	22/05/2013	29
Blue-tailed Damselfly	Ischnura elegans	23/04/2011	22/05/2013	29
Common Blue Damselfly	Enallagma cyathigerum	23/04/2011	13/05/2013	20
Azure Damselfly	Coenagrion puella	24/04/2009	25/05/2013	31
Banded Demoiselle	Calopteryx splendens	26/04/2011	25/05/2013	29
Red-eyed Damselfly	Erythromma najas	26/04/2011	22/05/2013	26
Broad-bodied Chaser	Libellula depressa	26/04/2011	01/06/2013	36
Four-spotted Chaser	Libellula quadrimaculata	02/05/2011	31/05/2013	29
Common Club-tail	Gomphus vulgatissimus	03/05/2011	20/05/2013	17
Hairy Dragonfly	Brachytron pratense	05/05/2011	Not Seen
White-legged Damselfly	Platycnemis pennipes	08/05/2009	03/06/2013	26
Black-tailed Skimmer	Orthetrum cancellatum	08/05/2011	04/06/2013	26
Southern Hawker	Aeshna cyanea	14/05/2012	29/06/2013	46
Scarce Chaser	Libellula fulva	22/05/2011	09/06/2013	18
Brown Hawker	Aeshna grandis	24/05/2009	30/06/2013	34
Emperor Dragonfly	Anax imperator	30/05/2008	08/06/2013	8
Common Darter	Sympetrum striolatum	30/05/2008	30/06/2013	30
Red-veined Darter	Sympetrum fonscolombii	31/05/2009	17/06/2013	Migrant
Golden-ringed Dragonfly	Cordulegaster boltonii	09/06/2012	12/07/2013	1 record
Emerald Damselfly	Lestes sponsa	15/06/2011	29/06/2013	14
Ruddy Darter	Sympetrum sanguineum	16/06/2010	09/07/2013	23
Common Hawker	Aeshna juncea	26/06/2010	Not Seen
Lesser Emperor	Anax parthenope	07/07/2011	Not Seen
Small Red-eyed Damselfly	Erythromma viridulum	11/07/2011	14/07/2013	3
Migrant Hawker	Aeshna mixta	22/07/2009	07/08/2013	16
Black Darter	Sympetrum danae	12/09/2009	Not Seen

Table 1. Dragonfly emergence dates. 2008-2012 compared with 2013.