Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma najas (Hansemann, 1823)

Bell’s Bush, Blagdon Lake © Nigel Milbourne 2010

 

Dragonflies & Damselflies Photo Gallery

 

Here is a list of Odonata for the site based on my own observations. The checklist follows that given in Appendix 3 of Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe by Klaas-Douwe B Dijkstra, 2006. All records are my own unless stated, so any inaccuracy is entirely down to me. If anyone has records they’d like to include, please contact me and I will insert and acknowledge them accordingly.

Annotated Site Dragonfly & Damselfly List [2024]

The latest revision sees the addition of Small Red-eyed Damselfly, noted for the first time in 2018 and now, apparently, resident. Common Emerald has not been seen for many years and may now be extinct at the site. Broad-bodied and Four-spotted Chasers are probably occasional visitors, like Brown Hawker, but the really noticeable change since the last revision to the list in 2016 has been the dramatic decline in Common and Ruddy Darter numbers, particularly the latter. They both used to be abundant, but I have had to change their abundance to common and fairly common respectively. Hopefully this is just a temporary decline due to water level fluctuations, but given the number of egrets at the lake in recent years, it may yet prove to be permanent.

Order Odonata

Sub-order Zygoptera (Damselflies)

  • Banded Demoiselle Damselfly Calopteryx splendens (Harris, 1782). 2002 (N.R. Milbourne). Very scarce. Probably wanderers from the feeder stream & local ponds.
  • Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly Calopteryx virgo (Linnaeus, 1758). 2005 (N.R. Milbourne). Scarce. Probably wanderers from the river below the dam & other local sites.
  • Common Emerald Damselfly Lestes sponsa (Hansemann, 1823). 2001 (N.R. Milbourne). Rare & possibly no longer present.
  • Azure Damselfy Coenagrion puella (Linnaeus, 1758). 2003 (N.R. Milbourne). Abundant.
  • Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum (Charpentier, 1840). 2001 (N.R. Milbourne). Abundant.
  • Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma najas (Hansemann, 1823). Extremely rare. 2003 (N.R. Milbourne). Extremely rare. Influx in 2010. None since.
  • Small Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma viridulum (charpentier, 1840). 26th July 2018 (N.R. Milbourne). Uncommon. Recorded in Britain for the first time in 1999.
  • Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans (Vander Linden, 1820). 2000 (N.R. Milbourne). Common.
  • Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nyphula (Sulzer, 1776). 2010 (N.R. Milbourne). Extremely rare. Probably wanderers from local ponds.

Sub-order Anisoptera (Dragonflies)

  • Southern Hawker Aeshna cyanea (Muller, 1764). 2001 (N.R. Milbourne). Fairly common.
  • Brown Hawker Dragonly Aeshna grandis (Linnaeus, 1758). 2001 & 2017 (N.R. Milbourne). Extremely rare.
  • Common Hawker Dragonfly Aeshna juncea (Linnaeus, 1758). Extremely rare. One record 27 Aug. 1981 (per BRERC). Probably a wanderer from Black Down.
  • Migrant Hawker Dragonfly Aeshna mixta Latreille, 1805. 2000 (N.R. Milbourne). Common.
  • Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator Leach, 1815. 2004 (N.R. Milbourne). Fairly common.
  • Lesser Emperor Anax parthenope (Selys, 1839). 2006 (N.R. Milbourne). Rare. Several during an influx in 2006, & several in 2024 when noted ovipositing. Recorded in Britain for the first time in 1996.
  • Broad-bodied Chaser Dragonfly Libellula depressa Linnaeus, 1758. 2004 (N.R. Milbourne). Rare.
  • Four-spotted Chaser Dragonfly Libellula quadrimaculata Linnaeus, 1758. 21 Jun. 1993 pers. com. R.M. Andrews. Extremely rare.
  • Black-tailed Skimmer Orthetrum cancellatum (Linnaeus, 1758). 2001 (N.R. Milbourne). Fairly common.
  • Ruddy Darter Sympetrum sanguineum (Muller, 1764). 2000 (N.R. Milbourne). Uncommon.
  • Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum (Charpentier, 1840). 2000 (N.R. Milbourne). Fairly common.

Total 20 spp.

Key to abundance:

Extremely rare – five or less records

Very rare – twenty or less records

Rare – less than annual; many years between records

Very scarce – less than annual; typically every 2 or 3 years

Scarce – very small numbers virtually every year

Uncommon – recorded in low numbers each year

Fairly common – occurs in reasonable numbers

Common – regularly occurs in good numbers

Abundant – occurs in large numbers

Bibliography (sources of information)

  1. Dijkstra, K-D.B. 2006. Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe.

Last update: 25th September 2024