Moor Green Lakes Group

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The Moor Green Lakes Damselfly and Dragonfly List

Dragonfly List Dragonfly recording

Index

Damselflies and Demoiselles: Able to fold their wings at rest. Eyes wide apart.

Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum
Red-eyed Damselfly Erythomma najas
Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella
Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula
Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans
Emerald Damselfly Lestes sponsa

Only record with precise date is 8th August

Banded Demoiselle Calopteryx splendens
Beautiful Demoiselle Calopteryx virgo

Dragonflies:Not able to close wings at rest. Eyes close together. Larger than damselflies.

Southern Hawker Dragonfly Aeshna cycnea

All records are in July

Brown Hawker Dragonfly Aeshna grandis
Migrant Hawker Dragonfly Aeshna mixta
Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator
Golden-ringed Dragonfly Cordulegaster boltonii

Flight season June to Sept

Downy Emerald Dragonfly Cordulia aenea

Flight season May to June

Black-tailed Skimmer Orthetrum cancellatum
Broad-bodied Chaser Libellula depressa
Four spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata
Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum
Ruddy Darter Sympetrum sanguineum

Vagrant - Peak flight season July and August

Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum

This is the familiar blue flying matchstick quartering the hedges of the path west of Colebrook Lake and to a lesser extent in sunny gaps in the trees along the Blackwater river.

Common Blue Damselfly - Male
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Common Blue Damselfly - Female
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Flight Season

Common Blue Damselfy season

Additional information about the Common blue damselfly at the British Dragonfly Society

Red-eyed Damselfly Erythomma najas

Found on west bank of Colebrook Lake North, for example from the screen, and singles occasionally on the Blackwater river.

Red-eyed Damselfly - Male
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Red-eyed Damselfly - Female

Flight Season

Red-eyed Damselfly season

Additional information about the Red-eyed Damselfly at the British Dragonfly Society

Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella

A small colony hangs on in the NW corner of Colebrook N and on the path beside it.

Azure Damselfly - Male
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Azure Damselfly - Female

Flight Season

Azure Damselfly season

Additional information about the Azure Damselfly at the British Dragonfly Society

Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula

Small numbers on Colebrook and a small colony on the South end of the Colebrook Lake path and on the Blackwater River. Usually no late season sightings, implying that emergence of overwintering larvae only at Moor Green, while other sites locally also have a later emergence of that year’s larva. It is not possible that this conspicuous insect is missed. The reason for this is not known.

The only other British Red damselfly is the rarer Small Red with red legs and does not occur on this site.

Large Red Damselfly - Male

Large Red Damselfly - Immature

Flight Season

Large Red Damselfly season

Additional information about the Large Red Damselfly at the British Dragonfly Society

Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans

Found on small numbers throughout reserve and along Blackwater river especially S of Grove. Rarely on path to W of Colebrook.

Blue-tailed Damselfly - Male
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Blue-tailed Damselfly - Male

Blue-tailed Damselfly - Female

Flight Season

Blue-tailed Damselfly season

Additional information about the Blue-tailed Damselfly at the British Dragonfly Society

Emerald Damselfly Lestes sponsa

Despite being described as “abundant” in 91/92 and present the following year and subsequent single historical records, the last confirmed record seems to be 2009.

Emerald Damselfly - note that female banded is also green

Emerald Damselfly

Flight Season

Only record with precise date is 8th August

Additional information about the Emerald Damselfly at the British Dragonfly Society

Banded Demoiselle Calopteryx splendens

Displaying males, the sign of summer up and down the Blackwater River. Also, in small numbers on the reserve itself.

Banded Damselfly - Male (R) definite banding, Female (L) greenish iridescence

Banded Damselfly - Male showing banding on the wing

Flight Season

Banded Demoiselle season

Additional information about the Banded Damselfly at the British Dragonfly Society

Beautiful Demoiselle Calopteryx virgo

Historical reports 2003 and 2009 but now a regular sight on the Blackwater River to the S of the reserve. In Crick 2003 “Blackwater Valley Dragonflies, “he talks of “occasional visitor to the Blackwater Valley... and recent sighting at Moor Green.” This is different now. Clearly expanding its range.

Beautiful Demoiselle - Male (L) wing colour almost to tips, Female (R) brownish iridescence

Flight Season

Beautiful Demoiselle season

Additional information about the Beautiful Damselfly at the British Dragonfly Society

Southern Hawker Dragonfly Aeshna cyanea

Surprisingly few records despite being common on many other local sites

Southern Hawker
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Flight Season

All records are in July

Additional information about the Southern Hawker Dragonfly at the British Dragonfly Society

Brown Hawker Dragonfly Aeshna grandis

For a short period, this is the dominant hawker, seen in every gap in the trees on the lake edges, to be replaced by the Migrant later in the season.

Brown Hawker - brown wings are diagnostic

Flight Season

Brown Hawker Dragonfly season

Additional information about the Brown Hawker Dragonfly at the British Dragonfly Society

Migrant Hawker Dragonfly Aeshna mixta

The familiar hawker dragonfly of late summer

Migrant Hawker
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Flight Season

Mirgant Hawker Dragonfly season

Additional information about the Migrant Hawker Dragonfly at the British Dragonfly Society

Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator

The familiar hawker dragonfly of early summer (later elsewhere), flying high and imperiously over its domain. Abdomen typically droops slightly in flight.

Emperor Dragonfly
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Flight Season

Emperor Dragonfly season

Additional information about the Emperor Dragonfly at the British Dragonfly Society

Golden-ringed Dragonfly Cordulegaster boltonii

Usually one record a year. In the past we had hoped they would breed in the cut between Grove and Colebrook, but this seems unlikely now.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly - Our only black and yellow dragonfly

Flight Season

Jun to Sept

Additional information about the Golden-ringed Dragonfly at the British Dragonfly Society

Downy Emerald Dragonfly Cordulia aenea

Despite previous records and reports of breeding (newletter July 2008) no recent records.

Downy Dragonfly

Flight Season

May to June

Additional information about the Downy Dragonfly at the British Dragonfly Society

Black-tailed Skimmer Orthetrum cancellatum

For a brief period in mid-summer, this is the friend one finds basking on any sunlit path like that west of Colebrook Lake. Present in quite high numbers.

Black-tailed skimmer - Male

Black-tailed skimmer - Female immature

Flight Season

Black-tailed Skimmer season

Additional information about the Black-tailed Skimmer at the British Dragonfly Society

Broad-bodied Chaser Libellula depressa

An early coloniser of new ponds: well worth looking out for on Manor Farm in early summer.

Broad-bodied Chaser - broad body with brown "armpits"

Flight Season

Broad-bodied Chaser season

Additional information about the Broad-bodied Chaser at the British Dragonfly Society

Four Spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata

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Four spotted Chaser - with spots on wing

Flight Season

Four Spotted Chaser season

Additional information about the Four Spotted Chaser at the British Dragonfly Society

Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum

Often found basking on the paths in late summer and may be present into November in mild years.

Common Darter - black and yellow legs

Flight Season

Common darter season

Additional information about the Common Darter at the British Dragonfly Society

Ruddy Darter Sympetrum sanguineum

Heathland species seen at the Spout Pool, the Ridges and Swinley Forest. Only a vagrant at Moor Green Lakes

Ruddy Darter - strikingly black legs

Flight Season

Vagrant. Peak flight season July and August

Additional information about the Ruddy Darter at the British Dragonfly Society

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