Mesmorising Dragonflies

It's July and the sky is full of flying insects, but our most mesmerising insect is the dragonfly, and the 4Bs is a fantastic place to spot them, thanks to our ponds, lakes, slow-moving streams and river. There are around 36 species of dragonflies in the UK, and many of them can be found in our area. These active, colourful insects thrive in clean, shallow waters with plenty of aquatic vegetation. Species you might spot include the Emperor Dragonfly, Golden-ringed Dragonfly, Southern Hawker, and Broad-bodied Chaser. They’re not just beautiful to watch, they’re also important indicators of a healthy ecosystem.

Vision is their primary sense and it is probably unmatched by any other insects or animals, with two large compound eyes, each hosting thousands of lenses, and three eyes with simple lenses. Which compensates for their small or underdeveloped antennae that limit or inhibit the ability to hear and smell. They are the ultimate insect predator and are the top predator in their food chain.

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​Dragonflies often mate on the wing and their mating process is one of the most fascinating in the insect world. The male grasps the female behind the head using claspers at the end of his abdomen. They fly together in this tandem position, until the male fertilises the eggs being carried by the female. This is tricky because the although the male's penis is where you would expect it to be, at the end of his abdominal segment, the female’s genital opening is located near her neck. To connect the sex organs the couple form a closed circle with their bodies, sometimes in the shape of a heart!

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Female dragonflies lay their eggs in or near water—either directly into the water, on aquatic plants, or in mud. They hatch into a nymph within a few days to several weeks, depending on the species and temperature. Dragonfly nymphs are fierce predators, feeding on tadpoles, worms, small fish, and other aquatic insects. They have extendable mouthparts (a sort of shooting jaw) to catch prey. They may live for a year or more as a nymph and and go through several moults shedding their skin as they grow. When fully grown, the nymph climbs out of the water onto a plant or rock. It then undergoes final moulting, splitting the nymphal skin and emerging as a winged adult. After a few hours of drying and hardening its ready to fly – and fly the do circling around a pond or field for hours at a time.

Dragonflies have been around for approximately 300 million years, since the Carboniferous period, making them one of the first winged insects to evolve. Given this enormous time span its rather sad that life is short for such an amazing creature. The life-expectancy of adults is typically no more than a week or two, and 6 to 8 weeks at best.  So let us cherish the moments they share with us.

The British Dragonfly Association has a wonderful website with lots of information about dragonflies and damselflies and a wonderful identification page


                     4Bs Biodiversity Initiative Dragonfly Movie
                             visit our Channel 4Bs Biodiversity Initiative - YouTube

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