Table of Latest Flight dates

Table of Earliest Flight dates

November 20^th 2015 - Latest ever record of flying Southern Hawker for Warwickshire

November 7^th 2015 - Autumn dragonflies and damselflies.

September 23^rd 2015 - Dragonflies and damselflies still active

August 27th 2015 - Migrant Hawker now flying in the county - this completes the list adult county breeding species seen this year.

August 13^th 2015 - Small Red-eyed Damselfly is now flying but the list for 2015 is still incomplete.

July 16^th 2015 - Scarce Chaser seen, Hairy Dragonfly at Brandon Marsh and nearly all our breeding species now flying.

May 29^th 2015 - Black-tailed Skimmer flying.

May 26^th 2015 - Four more species are flying and revised entry in the first flights table.

May 14^th 2015 - Banded Demoiselle and Broad-bodied Chaser both flying plus a good haul of Hairy Dragonfly exuvia and an emergent at Stockton Quarry.

May 8^th 2015 - First reports of flying Hairy Dragonfly on 4^th May and Blue-tailed Damselfly on 7^th May.

May 4^th 2015 - First report of flying Four-spotted Chaser on 1^st May.

May 3^rd 2015 - First report of flying Azure Damselfly.

April 26^th 2015 - Large Red Damselfly now flying widely across the county.

April 18^th 2015 - First flying Large Red Damselfly of 2015. Updated 20 April!

February 16^th 2015 - Report of David Chelmick's lecture.

February 2015 - Report for 2014 published in the BDS Darter journal.

Table of Latest Dates Recorded in Warwickshire

If you have any later dates for 2015 or later times for previous years please let me have them.

Back to page top

Table of Earliest Dates Recorded in Warwickshire

If you have any earlier dates for 2015 or earlier times for previous years please let me have them.

Back to page top

November 20^th Latest ever record of flying Southern Hawker for Warwickshire.

November 7^th Autumn dragonflies and damselflies.

There are now few species left flying. Southern Hawker, Migrant Hawker and Common Darter are the latest recorded species - see the last flights table for their and other species dates. For one species, Emerald Damselfly, three rather tired males were seen at Lighthorne on 2nd October, this is the latest record for the species in Warwickshire. Not many more records can be expected this year, though the weather has remained warm and so some are to be expected. This year the total number of records as of 7 November is 1386. This compares well with the last few years as the graph shows.

September 23^rd Dragonflies and damselflies still active

There are still a lot of dragonflies to be seen flying and they will continue in declining number well into November or even early December - if the weather is kind. It is a time to try and find the latest flying individuals of species - for many we have already seen the last of them for this year. The current situation can be seen in the last flights table above. However, this will not the last word this year - get out and see what you can find. On a visit to Brandon Marsh this afternoon, 23^rd September, it was rather cool (14 to 16ºC) and fairly cloudy but within less than a minute into the sunny periods dragonflies were up and flying and desperate to breed. Migrant Hawkers, Common Darters, Common Blue Damselfly and Red-eyed Damselfly were all apparent and showing breeding behaviour.

Larger image. Larger image.

Late in the year there are still interesting things to be seen.For example, these two individuals photographed at Marsh Lane Reserve on 19 September caused Kay and Peter Reeve to look more than once in order to identify them. Have a go at naming the species. Answers here. We also saw several dead Common Blue Damselflies in the water that were still fully coloured and could not have been dead long. Then while looking at a Common Blue it attempted to fly from an emergent reed stem and immediately fell into the water - it was too weak get itself out. Clearly, they were, literally, falling of their perches. Sex and age had worn them out! A few days earlier a strange attempt at mating was seen at Berryfield Pool. A Migrant Hawker male was flying in tandem with a South Hawker female. She was attempting to get into the wheel position while they flew but after failing several times the pair broke up. It is indicative of the intense desire to mate - time is running out. You continue to send in records and the total for this year now exceeds a thousand. Quite a number are for sightings made earlier in the year and more are expected to come in before the end of the year. If you still have records that you have not submitted it will be helpful if you do so as soon as you can.

Back to page top.

August 27^th Migrant Hawker now flying in the county - this completes the list adult county breeding species seen this year.

Since the August 13^th article, below, a considerable number of records have been received. These include the first reports for Migrant Hawker and a number of records for earlier in the year. The early records have resulted in a considerable change to the first flights table.

The first sighting of flying Migrant Hawker this year was made by Jon Bowley at Wormleighton Reservoir on July 28^th. There were three more Migrant Hawker records before August 13^th and three following that date. They are now flying quite widely across the county.

Other species that are still in considerable number at some sites are: Red-eyed Damselfly, Small Red-eyed Damselflies and Brown Hawker.

All the records so far received have been processed and the website updated. The total of records received so far this year is 730. How many more will be made this year?

Back to page top

August 13^th Small Red-eyed Damselfly is now flying but the list for 2015 is still incomplete.

The first 2015 VC38 flying Small Red-eyed Damselflies, a tandem pair, were seen at Alvecote Pooley Fields by Kay and Peter Reeve on July 25. Just two days later Ben Devine photographed this female at Brandon Marsh. Several more individuals have been seen since at two other sites. However, numbers have been small. Still missing from the county's known breeding species is a report for Migrant Hawker. This species should be about now. All others have now been seen as adults, see the first flights table, though quite often in relatively small numbers. So far we have not had any exotic vagrant in Warwickshire this year. So far, the number of records received to 13th August is well below the numbers for the same period in the previous six years, see the histogram on the left. Are there still many records to come in or has the poor weather this year resulted in less opportunity to record? If you have more records to supply please send them in.

Back to page top

July 16^th Scarce Chaser at Charlecote and almost all VC38 breeding species flying.

Scarce Chaser at Charlecote Park
	Excellent news about the Scarce Chaser. Mick Schilling saw a single male shown to the left on the Avon at Charlecote Park on 5th July. This is an exciting record, the first in an odd year. Mick's record was followed up by the sighting of two males at almost exactly the same location by Kay and Peter Reeve on 10th July. Previous sightings were in 2010 (FCR), 2012 and 2014, years that fit with the normal two year breeding cycle. This year's records suggest a new immigration, these individuals are well upstream of previous sightings, or it might be the first signs of "leakage" into odd years from the even year population.
First Hairy Dragonfly seen at Brandon Marsh
	This is another piece of good news. Dave Mount photographed this Hairy Dragonfly at Brandon Marsh 2nd June. He sighted it, or others, on several succeeding days. There is plenty of perfect habitat for this species on the reserve - we have been waiting for the first one to be reported. It is now very late to expect more sightings but next year searches can be made in May for signs of breeding.
Almost all Warwickshire breeding species are now flying
With the exception of Small Red-eyed Damselfly and Club-tailed Dragonfly, all our breeding species are now flying. It is still early for Small Red-eye - for which we can soon expect the first record. However, for the Club-tailed Dragonfly it is now very late and unlikely to be seen this year. The very sparse number of records for this species in the last few years is worrying. The number of recorded sightings and exuvia found dropped suddenly in 2010 and has not recovered. The flight table list all the species seen this year, when, where and by whom. One species worthy of comment is Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly. Jon Bailey reported one male on 14th June - it is still holding on.

May 29^th Black-tailed Skimmer flying.

Glyn Clarke saw two Black-tailed Skimmers at Southam Old Quarry 28 May the first record for flying individuals in the county received this year.

May 26^th Four more species are flying and revised entry in the first flights table.

Red-eyed Damselfly - 21st May.
The first adult Red-eyed Damselfly was recorded at Brandon Marsh by Ian Harris.
Beautiful Demoiselle - 22nd May.
	Richard Harbird found and photographed this freshly emerged Beautiful Demoiselle at Morton Bagot. The same day Kay & Peter Reeve looked for the species on the Leam at Wolfhamcote, a known breeding site, and did not find it.
White-legged Damselfly - 23rd May.
A number of newly emerged White-legged Damselfly were seen by Kay & Peter Reeve on the Avon at Marlcliff. Kay also found an exuvia of the species.
Common Blue Damselfly - 25th May.
Kay & Peter Reeve also saw several newly emerged Common Blue Damselflies Napton Reservoir.
First flights table and comments.
The first flights table has been updated with the above observations and the entry for Hairy Dragonfly moved one day earlier. Andrew Pitt spotted one at Stockton Railway Cutting on 3 May.
	The count of species flying is gradually rising. But the numbers of records received so far this year low compared with most earlier years of the millennium. This particularly case compared to the years 2009/10/11 which had warm early springs. The cool weather this spring both retards the date species emerge and numbers of emerging individuals. It also tends to put off recorders from going out into the field - so do we miss things?

May 14^th Banded Demoiselle and Broad-bodied Chaser both flying plus a good haul of Hairy Dragonfly exuvia and an emergent at Stockton Quarry.

Two more species now flying are the Banded Demoiselle and the Broad-bodied Chaser. The first Banded Demoiselle was recorded by Katie Thorpe at Middleton Lakes on 7^th May. It was seen the next day in numbers at Brandon Marsh and the Avon at Bidford-on-Avon. The first flights table is updated.

Kay and Peter Reeve made a visit to Stockton Quarry on 12th May to look for signs of the breeding population of Hairy Dragonfly. After some searching they were rewarded by finding ten exuvia and the emergent male shown in the picture. This population continues to be healthy.

May 8^th First reports of flying Hairy Dragonfly on 4^th May and Blue-tailed Damselfly on 7^th May.

Ian Harris has been at work again at Brandon and found three Blue-tailed Damselflies on the Avon bank 7^th May. The individual in the picture has probably been out a day or two.

Sarah Walters sent the following in an email on 4th May: "Just to let you know I saw a large dark hawker dragonfly in Alvecote Wood today. I didn't get a photo but almost certain it was a hairy dragonfly. That's really all it could be at this time of year." After thinking about I have to agree so we have our first flying Hairy Dragonfly of the year.

May 3^rd First report of flying Four-spotted Chaser.

A single Four-spotted Chaser was recorded at Bubbenhall Meadow on 1^st May. It was reported late by Jim Timms who was diverted by a Hudsonian Goodwit that appeared in Somerset!
It is not a paticularly early specimen as the first flights table shows.

May 3^rd First report of flying Azure Damselfly.

Ian Harris spotted this female Azure Damselfly at Brandon Marsh on 3rd May. It is recently emerged. As the first flights table shows, it is fairly early. The only year with earlier records is 2011 which was very warm from the new year into spring. There was a record in 2007 on the same day.

April 26^th Large Red Damselfly now flying widely across the county.

The Large Red Damselflies has now been seen widely across Warwickshire though still in small numbers. The picture shows a Large Red Damselfly at Marsh Lane Reserve photographed 21st April.

April 18^th First flying Large Red Damselfly of 2015.

UPDATE - Phil Clayton has just sent in a record for one LRD at Stretton-on-Fosse for 16^th April, only four days later than our earliest.

The first county report of adult damselflies of 2015 has been received from Glyn Clarke, 4 adult Large Red Damselflies at Stockton.

This is two days later than last year and six later than the county earliest - see first flights and 16 days later than the earliest record for the UK this year on the BDS website.

February 16^th 2015 - Report of David Chelmick's lecture..

David Chelmick gave an informative, thought provoking and entertaining lecture.

He started with a description of visits to his son in Dubai on the Persian Gulf. The surprise on his first visit was the dragonfly fauna he found in this desert city. Dragonflies and damselflies were exploiting all the water bodies available - park lakes, pools formed by leaking water mains (even though almost all fresh water is obtained by desalination there seems to be no urgency to repair!), etc. During his stays he travelled into the desert to visit oases and even found streams with breeding dragonflies.

However, the core of his lecture was the description of some fascinating aspects of the reproduction biology of dragonflies and damselflies.

David has made a special study of the Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura) genus. One species of great interest is the Citrine Forktail, I. hastata. This is an American species. In Europe it breeds only in the Azores and the unique feature of its biology there is that only females are found and so they must reproduce by parthenogenesis. - the only species of dragonfly known to do so.

Another feature of species in this genus is that they are often have a very wide global distribution. Most of the many genera in the family Coenagrionidae, to which Blue-tails belong, have more species with a more local distribution.

David has put these facts together with other aspects of Blue-tail biology and behaviour to propose a very interesting hypothesis, that:

even though sexual reproduction may be the norm.

The presence of parthenogenesis in the genus could help solve the problem of its "unique" appearance in the Citrine Forktail on the Azores - only females colonised the islands hence only parthenogenesis could sustain a population. Also parthenogenesis tends to slow the rate with which evolution produces new species. This helps explain the wide distribution of Blue-tail species - parthenogenesis slows the rate of evolution.

The hypothesis can be proved or disproved by careful experimentation. David has suggested projects on Blue-tails to a number of academics but their response is that although very interesting there was no chance of getting any funding because Blue-tails are such a common and numerous insects. If they were rare or threatened it would be a different story!

Perhaps we should look at our common Blue-tailed Damselfly with more interest. Is some cryptic parthenogenetic reproduction happening in our population?

Lest this report give the impression that the lecture was heavy going, it was not. David leavened his talk with anecdote and wit and made light work of the more technical parts.

Thank you David for your most interesting and thought provoking lecture.

February 16^th 2015 - Report for 2014 published in the BDS Darter journal.

The BDS publishes the "Darter" every year. It is a communication journal for the county recorders. Below is article supplied to the journal Warwickshire, VC 38.

Warwickshire – VC 38 Kay & Peter Reeve It was very pleasing to receive our highest annual number of records for the county in 2014 - a total of 1623 records. It follows about ten years of being motivated to collect records for the new atlas – it is a pleasant surprise. There was one notable vagrant sighted during the year, the Lesser Emperor Anax parthenope. Steve Batt snapped this at Draycote Water 7 July. It was only perched for a few seconds but it was sufficient for Steve to get this grab shot. The species has now been recorded in the county in 2011, 2013 and 2014. Des Jennings made several very interesting sightings of Beautiful Demoiselle Calopteryx virgo on the River Cole. This river rises in the centre of Birmingham and runs south more or less along the VC38/VC37 border. Des's sightings are well into the suburban area of Solihull and are the first records noted for the area since 1900. A likely factor in its reappearance is improved water quality. The Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura pumilio is still at its one known breeding site in VC38. Unfortunately, the quarry has ceased production and appropriate breeding habitat is becoming more and more scarce. The long term outlook for the population seems bleak. Hairy Dragonfly Brachytron pratense and Scarce Chaser Libellula fulva were both recorded in numbers but, as reported in last year’s Darter, the status Club-tailed Dragonfly Gomphus vulgatissimus on the Avon is worrying. Only one adult was seen on the river in 2014. However, a single exuvia found by the river proves it still breeds in the county.

Banner artwork by Joan Sharrett