Find Water and Find Dragonflies.

 As I happened to be very near to the pond in Stag Lane,Newport this morning, I  stopped for a quick visit and was rewarded with good numbers of  odonata. As we are now well into a prolonged dry period with no substantial rain  for nearly two months this large pond is well down on it's usual level. Emperor Dragonflies were patrolling the reeded margins and  the open water and some Common Darters were also evident. Perhaps the most interesting sightings were several male Small Red-eyed Damselflies  perching on reed stems in the sunshine. 

Our Island Resident Species-Damselflies(2).

The Common Blue Damselfly as the name suggests is a species that can be seen throughout the UK. It prefers large water bodies such as lakes, reservoirs, and larger ponds. Of course the male is a striking blue and  the female has two colour forms, dull green and blue. The male and tandem pairs are often seen flying low over open water 

Another blue damselfly is the Red-eyed Damselfly which is quite commonly seen here at large ponds and standing water bodies, particularly with floating vegetation  such as water-lilies. Females and immatures tend to be yellowish-green in colour and new emergents have purple tones in both male and female. They can sometimes be in the company of the Small Red-eyed Damselfly although the former is on the wing in May whereas the Small Red-eyed emerges in late June or July.

Similar in appearance to the Red-eyed is the Small Red-eyed Damselfly. This species was  first recorded only twenty years ago on the Isle of Wight and has now spread around the Island. It too likes ponds with surface vegetation but is quite happy in smaller ponds unlike the Red-eyed. Females can be yellow, green, or blue.

   

Small Red-eyes at Stag Lane Pond.

Stag Lane pond is situated near to Newport on the Isle of Wight and close to the Dodnor Creek Nature Reserve bordering the River Medina.The pond is a renowned fishing lake and also a place for many species of odonata.At this time of year Small Red-eyed Damselflies abound and today under cloudy skies but high temperatures of over 30 degrees celcius several males were resting on pondside foliage.

Small Red-eyes at Shalfleet.

The Small Red-eyed Damselflies at a private garden pond in the village of Shalfleet have been late emerging this year.However today several mature males were on the pond  although it seems they were finding any open space  a problem as the ponds' lilies had almost covered the surface.

More Red-eyes.

The Red-eyed Damselfly or Large Red-eyed,as the name suggests, is a slightly bigger and more robust damselfly than its relative the Small Red-eyed Damselfly. Whereas the latter normally appear here at the beginning of July,the Red-eyed can be seen at the start of May.In fact an immature male was spotted at my garden pond on the 29th April this year.

This species is closely associated with floating leaves,typically water-lillies,and they favour large ponds and lakes where this plant grows.On the Isle of Wight the ponds at Stag Lane and Dickson pond which is close by, are good sites.
Both species can be seen in the same locations and can be difficult to tell apart.The following photographs show the Small Red-eyed Damselfly,except the two final images which are of an immature male Red-eyed.

Mature female

Immature male

Immature male

Better Late Than Never.

This  garden pond at Shalflleet has reliably produced a thriving population of Small Red-eyed Damselflies for a number of seasons. This year I am glad to say that males are on the ponds' lily pads.I must admit that I was somewhat concerned as normally the first damselflies are recorded in the last week of June.Today there were at least three males together with a green/black immature male that briefly landed on a pad only to fly off.

Small Red-eyes Now In Full Swing.

Activity at the garden pond in the village of Shalflleet is increasing with several mating pairs in addition to a number of ovipositing pairs in tandem. I would guess that numbers have not yet peaked as this is a thriving colony.The pond is now well covered in lily pads since the plants were thinned a couple of seasons ago.It seems that this species is happy with an almost choked pond covering. 

Small Red-eyes Appearing.

The first report of Small Red-eyed Damselflies on the Isle of Wight was on the 26th June.This was six days later than 2017  when two individuals were recorded in the village of Shalflleet.Therefore I was hopeful if not expectant that I would see adult males at a garden pond in the village.
My optimism it seemed was misplaced as despite some searching there was no sign of any Small Red-eyes.However a persistant scan of the numerous lilypads on the pond discovered a teneral damselfly preparing to take its first flight .More searching revealed a second emergent struggling to escape from its laval case as seen in the sequence of photos below.

Small Red-eye almost ready for its first flight.

Starting to emerge from its larval case.

Out but still with folded wings.

Wings almost developed.

Abdomen nearly straight.

Not too long to take off.

On The Rise.

We are enjoying a prolonged spell of hot and dry weather now and dragonfly activity has increased.This morning a trip to a garden pond in the nearby village of Shalfleet resulted in no sign of the first Small Red-eyed Damselflies.

However there were other odonata to be seen including this male darter in what for me is a rare sight in the UK.The obelisk postion taken by dragonflies can be a way of keeping cool in hot conditions.The abdomen is raised so as to modify the surface area that is directly exposed to the heat of the sun and both males and females can regulate their body temperartures in this way.

Top Highlight of 2017

We enjoyed some excellent early summer weather this year and the dragonflies responded with plenty of sightings at the usual sites.Unfortunately the periods of settled warm weather did not continue through the latter part of the summer and activity was very disappointing.

The first  highlight of the season occurred on an earlier than usual holiday to the Greek Island of Thassos. We normally visit in August but this year decided on  May. The reed surrounded pools at the back of the beach at Chrissi Ammoudia always have a variety of odonata.However this time  I was treated to close views the Norfolk Hawker, Aeshna isoceles. This green-eyed hawker is not encountered much in the UK except in East Anglia as the name would suggest.

At a local garden pond site the Small Red-eyed Damselfly was once again out in good numbers after the aggressive cutting back of water lilies in the winter of 2015-16.In fact a sighting on the 20th June this year was the earliest record of this species on the Isle of Wight to date.Apart from the sight of an emergent damselfly on the pond weed, a mature male was spotted soon after this and therefore the date can be earlier by several days.

Exciting though these encounters were,the top highlight of 2017 by far must be the discovery of a breeding colony of Southern Emerald Damselflies here on the Island close to the town of Yarmouth. Prior to May this year the only records of  Lestes barbarus  in the UK have been in Kent,Essex,and Norfolk so it is quite an event to find this new species.The discovery may have gone unnoticed as the photographs of the several Southern Emeralds seen on that day were misidentified as  Lestes  sponsa. Thanks therefore must go the Odonata Records Officer for Migrant Dragonflies at the British Dragonfly Society for pointing out the error.I have now recovered from my initial embarrassment of making this basic mistake, as for some seasons prior to 2017 I have regularly seen Lestes sponsa  at this site. In fact it is thanks to another odonatist  trawling through the earlier posts of this blog that confirmed the photos taken in 2016 showed Leste barbarus and not Lestes sponsa  as I had thought.These earlier photographs  also proved that breeding had taken place on this site since at least 2015 as some individuals were immature.