Mid-summer is one of my favourite times of year. But it's not the hot weather that I enjoy (it's been much too sticky lately - yuck). The warmth brings with it a bounty of amazing insects to watch and admire.
This is the time to go and look for dragonflies and their smaller relatives, damselflies. Although they need water - rivers, streams and ponds - to breed in, you can see them just about anywhere after that.
What to watch out for
Here's a southern hawker on the prowl. This is a biggish dragonfly you could see in many parts of the UK. They're quite inquisitive and will fly right up to you to have a look!
Dragonflies feed on smaller insects, and different species employ different methods of hunting. Some, like the hawkers, patrol their territory constantly and snatch up flying bugs. Bristles on their legs act like a basket to scoop up prey.
Others, like the darters, find a lookout perch and make shorter flights from that, often returning to the same spot to eat their catch. Watching what a dragonfly does can help you identify it.
When mating, dragonflies and damselflies pose in a heart-shape. It's not very romantic, though. The male flies after the female and grabs her behind her head. If she cooperates, she brings the tip of her tail round to join his body, and mating occurs. That's what these common blue damselflies are doing.
When mating's over, the female must lay eggs - usually into water, but sometimes onto waterside plants or even wood. This is a female emperor perching on a lilypad, dipping her tail into the water where the eggs are released. It's often possible to get a really good close-up view while she's distracted.
These insects are fascinating to watch at all stages of their life-cycle. Fertilised eggs develop into nymphs which can spend up to three years living underwater (depending on the species - the bigger ones take longer). Pond-dipping is a fun way to learn more about what goes on beneath the surface... If you can't try the real thing, how about our interactive game?
In spring and summer, dragonfly nymphs climb out of the water and undergo a transformation. Perching on a leaf or stem, they burst out of their own skins, do a backflip and have to wait to toughen up before they can fly away. If you're lucky enough to see this process, you're in for a treat - one of nature's most amazing sights.
This is what the leftover, empty skins ('exuviae') look like - not very pretty, but fascinating all the same!
What will you see this weekend? Lots of our nature reserves are really good places to see dragonflies (and also a walk and an ice-cream). Leave a comment and tell us all about it!
Hi - thanks for your comments! I've yet to see a dragonfly in the process of emerging from its exuvia. I've seen them shortly afterwards and at just about every other stage of life, but even when I had a garden pond I never saw the whole process... :o(
Sammie, if your dragonfly was more brownish, how about a female broad-bodied chaser, a common darter or perhaps a brown hawker?