Having just enjoyed a week of sleet and wind in North Yorkshire I return to find the Shropshire weather has also been very unlike May! Despite this a number of species have somehow managed to emerge successfully. Stephen Barlow has sent in these photos of an immature male Broad-bodied Chaser seen on 17th May at Whixall Moss. He reports that whilst numbers of early spring species are picking up, the season is still delayed by the conditions. Pictured below right is a male White-faced Darter who still has not attained his mature red coloration and indeed Stephen hasn’t seen any mating or ovipositing yet in this species which is unusual for late May.
In Shrewsbury Jim Almond has seen Broad-bodied Chaser emerging from his pond on 20th May and elsewhere in Shropshire has seen both Azure Damselfly and Red-eyed Damselfly on the wing.
