Worcs Wildlife Trust

Aerial acrobats

I250 million years ago dragonflies were as big as sparrowhawks! Dragonflies are the largest insects ever to have flown the earth yet the most impressive UK dragonfly today, the emperor, has a wingspan of about 10cm.

Beautiful demoiselle by Guy Edwardes 2020VISION

Dragonflies and damselflies belong to the order Odonata, which means ‘toothed jaw’ and refers to their serrated mouthparts - these beautiful creatures are stunningly efficient aerial predators of smaller insects. Their larvae live in waterbodies for anything from six months to six years before emerging as the adults we’re more familiar with. Adult dragonflies are larger and bulkier than damselflies and they tend to perch with their two pairs of wings outstretched rather than closed along the length of their body as damselflies do.

Which species is found where depends on the waterbody. Brown hawkers, for example, prefer slow-flowing water or ponds, emperors need larger bodies of water like lakes and the banded and beautiful demoiselles are happiest with streams and rivers.

As the weather warms and we’re able to wander a little further afield, you’ll spot dragonflies and damselflies around almost any waterbody but what if you want to make a dragon oasis in your garden or local greenspace – what can you expect to see? Large red damselflies and broad-bodied chasers are usually first colonisers of new ponds so if you’ve created a wildlife pond as a lockdown project, keep a look out for these this spring and summer. Your pond will need vegetation to help them clamber out of the water in order to break out of their larval armour and into the beautiful adult forms. If you’re a keen photographer, you could even add a few perches around the pond to help you capture the perfect image.

Fortunately, the two most common garden pond dragons and damsels are easy to recognise. Large red damselflies are just 3-4cm long and are all red. You can separate male from female by the thickness of the black bands on their body (females have more black) but look for them coupled together in the mating ‘wheel’ when the female is ready to lay eggs. Males and females of broad-bodied chasers are much easier to tell apart – the males are pale blue with yellow spots on the side of their abdomens whereas the females are a golden yellow. These are bigger than the large red damselflies and, as their name suggests, they have broad, flattened bodies.

We’re keen to know where both of these species can be found in Worcestershire so if you’ve seen them in your gardens or on your travels, why not snap a photo and upload it via our website www.worcswildlifetrust. co.uk/wildlife-sightings along with a few details about where and when you saw it.

Large red damselfly male by Pete Cheshire

Large red damselfly female by Bob Tunstall

by Wendy Carter, Worcestershire Wildlife Trust

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