What's going on here?

I filmed this female Broad Bodied Chaser from the underside and noticed that there seems to be a definite 'split' in the body - anyone noticed this before? ..and what is this called etc etc....

Darters at Ditchford

A curious Common Darter

Male Ruddy Darter with the blood-red body.

We are now in the cross-over time between the summer species and the first appearence of the autumn species. The number of Common Blue Damselflies at Ditchford have plummeted from a peak of 500+ to ~100. Emperors are declining and Brown Hawker are ascending. We saw many oviposting Brown Hawker which is typical for this time of year. A few Migrant Hawker exuviae were found including one make with damaged wings. A single Ruddy Darter and a few Common Darter were also around.

Pitsford Reservoir

At last, some sunshine so I popped to Pisford at lunchtime in search of Ruddy Darter and Emerald Damselflies. Also present, Four-spotted Chaser, Brown Hawker, Southrn Hawker, Azure, Blue-tail and Common Blue Damsels. Both Ruddy and Emeralds were in-cop, so shown in the photos above.

Lesser Emperor Sighting at Pitsford

I have received a thorough descrition of the sightng of Lesser Emperor at Pitsford, and have added it to this year's total.

New Sightings

11 July - Chris Emary reported this year's first Migrant Hawker at Greens Norton.

4 July - Doug Goddard forwarded a note from a northants birding site that a Lesser Emperor was sighted at Pitsford Reservoir. This remains unconfirmed at the moment. I have contacted the source who may be able to send more info.

Fermyn Woods Country Park

Darryl Sutcliffe visited Fermyn Woods CP to see the Purple Emperor butterfly, fortunately he also sent in records of the following:

At the Reedy Pond:
2 male Emperor, one defending territory, one female Emperor ovipositing.
3 Four-spotted Chaser, one on territory.
Ruddy Darter – 3+
Azure damselfly – 50+, with at least 10 pairs ovipositing.
Blue tailed damselfly -10+
Common blue damselfly - 5+
Emerald damselfly – 1 male

At the Big Pit Pond, with the dragonfly sculpture:
Four-spotted Chaser - one on territory.
Red-eyed damselfly – one male
Azure damselfly – 20+
Blue-tailed damselfly – 10+

At the Great-crested Newt Pond:
Brown Hawker – 2 male
Southern Hawker – 1 male, 1 female ovipositing when not disturbed by FSC.
Four spotted chaser – 3 males, 1 female ovipositing.
Ruddy Darter – 2+
Azure damselfly – 200+, with at least 50 pairs ovipositing.
Blue tailed damselfly -10+
Common blue damselfly - 5+
Emerald damselfly – 6 male

This is one of my favourote sites in Northants, as the ponds are small and accessible and it is great for the kids.

Emperors at the Red-veined Darter Pond

I returned to the Red-veined Darter pond, after a week of high activity there that saw up to 6 males and oviposting recorded at least twice. While the temperature was still hovering around 24 degrees it was quite windy. I only saw 2 males R-v Darters and neither hung around to be photographed. Instead I watched a male Emperor at territory occassionally hovering into the wind and managed the above photos. He saw and grabbed a female and I also caught them in-cop. Also seen was an oviposting Broad-bodied Chaser and many Common Darter. I walked through the grasslands in the hope of finding some roosting R-v Darters and promptly disturbed a male Scarce Chaser. On returning home, I picked up an e-mail from Mark Piper saying that he and Nick Roberts had also seen one on the Nene in this area. Could it have been the same one??? This is the furthest west on the Nene that they have been seen, Last year, Darryl Sutcliffe recorded on at Billing Mill, and Upton is quite a way further west from there.

Small Red-eyes at Higham Ferrers

Black-tailed Skimmer

Following Mark's sighting, I went to Higham Ferrers pits and saw several Small Red-eyes including many pairs in-cop already. They must be at least 1 week old. Also, many Black-tailed Skimmer, Brown Hawker and Emperors.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly

Mark Piper has reported the first Small Red-eyed Damselflies at ponds near Ravensthorpe Reservoir.

More Red-veined Darter Activity

Mark P. revisited the site on Sun 28 June and a number of dragonfly enthusiasts went there today. Jim Dinkley & Bob Bullock reported seeing an oviposting pair, which is really exciting news. This species has a 2-3 month larval time and adults can be expected to emerge in September. Jeff Blincow took the above photo.

Going, Going, Gone

After the excitement of the Red-veined Darters, I went hunting for them at Wilson's Pits, which shares many characteristics of the Northampton site. I didn't see any, so instead concentrated on the many oviposting Common Blues. Little was flying, perhaps because of the high temperatutres, but the Damsels were as busy as ever. I watched this pair oviposting, when the female began to submerge. Once completely under water, the male unhooked and flew off. He didn't go far though and as she emerged, he grabbed her again and pulled her out of the water. She survived of course.

Red-veined Darters in Northampton

Nick Roberts phoned me this afternoon to report that he and Mark Piper had seen 6 Red-veined Darter at a newish pond near road works just outside Northampton. These are normally of Meditteranean origin and are regular migrants to the UK. Once I'd got directions, I sped (not exceeding 70mph, I hasten to add) off hoping I wasn't too late. When I got to the site, it took several minutes before I saw the first one and then all six appeared. Their territories were quite large - much larger than the Black-tailed Skimmer they shared the pond with. There were many clashes and even one between two R-v Darters. The males all perched on the bare mud around the pond where I crouched down on my stomach to take the photos above. No sign of any Lesser Emperors that normally seem to accompany R-v Darters though. Thanks for the record Nick & Mark!!

Beautiful Demoiselle Hunting on the River Cherwell

I took Wednesday pm off work and drove to see the Beautiful Demoiselle on the River Cherwell around Chipping Warden and Edgcote. This is a well known area for this species, but one I haven't visited before. After walking and driving to several sites, including some previously un-recorded sites, I saw many individuals including pairs in-cop and oviposting. One thing I noted was how red/brown the female is compared with the Banded Demoiselle which remains green throughout its life. Interestingly, the White-legged Damselfly appears to be expanding here and they can be seen side-by-side with the Beautiful and Banded Demoiselle here. The photos above show males at territory and an oviposting female.

One hour at Ditchford this lunchtime

The single male Black-tailed Skimmer

Immature Common Darter

I went to Ditchford to count Black-tailed Skimmer as they are declining here due to the rapid colonisation of marginal vegetation - I only saw one see photo above. I also caught sight of a couple of emerging Common Darter, the first this year. Above is my favourite photo, and one I have been trying to get for a long time - a pair of Four-spotted Chaser incop inflight. This only lasts for 1-2 seconds so a quick shutter finger is needed. It is quite crop as I wasn't that close.