Dragonfly report 20/4/2023
As you drive past woods around us, you'll notice that the bluebells are now in full swing. It's a beautiful time of year to be in England. It also usually means that there's only about one-to-two weeks until we start seeing Damselflies start to appear at Old Moor.
So to whet your appetite, let's look at my season highlights from 2022.
We kick-started the calendar with a pond dipping session on April 28th, immediately confirming suspicions that Hairy Dragonfly were breeding in the strip pond by the sundial stones (top left). The British Dragonfly Society County Recorder’s report later in the year made note that this is South Yorkshire’s first record of a breeding population west of Doncaster in 20 years!
May 5th first Azure Damselflies seen emerging. Sighting of adult Hairy Dragonfly (top right)
One week later a synchronised emergence of Four Spotted Chasers began from the sensory garden pond (top centre), with a few bonus Broad Bodied Chasers thrown in for good measure
June 22nd I got my first ever shot of a pair of Four Spotted Chasers mating. This takes place in midair and only lasts seconds, so it was quite a catch! (Bottom left)
July 24th A mating pair of Southern Hawkers was found during a Dragonfly Tour by the newt pond (bottom centre).
August 18th – The first Willow Emerald of the year turns up near the climbing tower, and this was the first male seen on the site.
September 13th – first observation of mating between willow emeralds. We were able to identify the use of other plants for egg-laying and care has been taken to make sure that known plants were preserved during habitat maintenance over the winter (bottom right).
September 18th - First scarring observed on willow trees. More clusters of scars were found over the weeks that followed, and the ones I found totalled more than 400 eggs. There will be plenty more around the reserve that are inaccessible.
Sighting date ranges for your calendar:
Azure damselflies 5/5 – 4/8
Hairy Dragonfly 5/5 – 18/5
Blue-Tailed Damselfly 5/5 – 31/8
Large Red Damselfly 6/5 – 1/6
Broad Bodied Chaser 7/5 – 8/7
Four Spotted Chaser 10/5 – 8/7
Common Blue Damselfly 10/5 – 5/8
Red-Eyed Damselfly 1/6 – 20/7
Emperor Dragonfly 14/6 – 2/8
Banded Demoiselle 14/6 – 14/7
Black-Tailed Skimmer 24/6 – 20/8
Common Darter 28/6 – 3/11
Brown Hawker 30/6 – 21/9
Southern Hawker 2/7 – 8/10
Ruddy Darter 2/7 – 23/9
Emerald Damselfly 13/7 – 30/8
Small Red-Eyed Damselfly 20/7 - 31/7
Migrant Hawker 31/7 – 2/11
Willow Emerald Damselfly 18/8 – 3/11
Black Darter 30/8 – 27/9
And now for this year:
No adults as yet, but there are subtle signs that we will see them soon. The sub-adult nymphs of Azure and Blue-Tailed Damselflies are now starting to approach the surface. You can spot them on a sunny day in the sensory garden pond, with their little wingbud backpacks.
I've also been keeping an eye on the scars on the willow trees. These scars contain the eggs of the next generation of Willow Emerald Damselflies, and because it's the first year we've had them, it's been a unique opportunity to keep an eye on them, because there is no confusion with older activity. Until a few days ago, they were rounded nodules which were smooth to the touch. Yesterday, they've re-opened and blown outwards. This means that the eggs have now hatched, and the prolarvae have now entered the water to continue their growth.
The nymphs of this species grow very quickly, so we’ll see the adults by the end of this year!
Every new rainfall mixes the pond waters, bringing us closer to the emergence period, so start hunting on warm days. Damselflies are starting to appear around the country now, so we could be seeing them any day.
Volunteer Shaun welcomes visitors to RSPB Old Moor. He also writes a weekly blog about life at the reserve titled, "View From the Shed". He usually wears a big hat.