Category Archives: Blog

The first Shropshire based Clubtails have been seen on the River Severn at Coalbrookdale by Paul Spear. Five were spotted on Sunday and not only has Paul sent in some lovely pics of a female, but also a magnificent exuvia! The great thing is the exuviae are so squat and robust and distinctive that once you’ve seen one they’re like no others in the UK and they are are also a really great record to send in as proof of successful breeding. Paul also sent pics of a female Banded Demoiselle (far below left) and Blue-tailed Damselfly (far below right).

It seems Whixall Moss is leading the way again with first sightings. As my pond in Shrewsbury is only just getting underway with good numbers of Large Red Damselflies and Four-spotted Chasers emerging, up at Whixall Stephen Barlow has seen Broad-bodied Chaser (left) on the wing, Banded Demoiselle, Beautiful Demoiselle (below left) and White-legged Damselfly (below right). The White-legged Damselfly is believed to be struggling in some parts of it’s distribution though it does well in Shropshire particularly around the canals. Always a lovely insect to see and good records to send into Vicky.

I was just sauntering passed Radbrook Pond on Sunday when I found these 2 exuviae. The larger of the 2 is Red-eyed Damselfly- a distinctively large exuviae with bands visible on the caudal lamellae (below left). I assumed the smaller of the 2 would be Large Red Damselfly but when I actually looked at it carefully at home I found it to be Blue-tailed Damselfly. I soaked and studied the caudal lamellae (below right-blurred sorry) which have a tapered pointed tip and are described as obliquely subnodate with stout setae reaching the mid point on one side and a third of the way on the other- all from Steve Cham’s great ID guide. So that’s 2 more species for 2019!

Stephen Barlow has seen and photographed this female Azure Damselfly at Whixall Moss on Saturday 4th May. Stephen also reported good numbers of Large Red Damselflies present in the more sheltered spots and 5 more Four-spotted Chasers.

Stephen Barlow had an excellent early haul of 3 different species on Whixall Moss on Bank Holiday Monday. An immature male White-faced Darter is seen here on the far left showing yellow markings which will turn red with maturity. On the immediate left is the first sighting of Four-spotted Chaser- already clearly showing the four spots at the node of the wings.

Stephen also saw more Large Red Damselflies- a male is seen here on the far left and a female on the near left with a clear bulbous ovipositor at the end of the abdomen.

Hot on the heels of the first sightings, Large Reds were seen at both Attingham Park (by Paul Spear) and Whixall Moss (by Stephen Barlow) on Good Friday. Paul took the photo shown here of a female. Females come in 3 colour forms so it’s always a good chance to have a closer look whilst there are few other species about. This is the form fulvipes with yellow antehumeral stripes and black markings on the abdomen.

And we’re off! Maria Justamond has seen the first Large Red Damselflies emerging in Shropshire at Upton Magna yesterday- Wednesday 17th April. Several were seen and I’m sure that with the amazing forecast we should see much winged activity this Easter throughout Shropshire…keep me posted…

Well after a hint of summer back in February and then a hot week last week I thought I’d better launch the 2019 blog just in case we have early records coming in…..and now snow is forecast and I’m not really sure what the Large Red Damselflies will make of it all! Typically the first adults start to emerge towards the end of April, but with the mixed weather I would say anything is possible and I’m certainly keeping a close eye on the pond. This photo was taken last year by Paul Spear and shows a Large Red Damselfly- always the first species on the wing….though White-faced Darters are often close behind if you’re near Whixall Moss. Please do get in touch if you see any dragons or damsels and we can get the Shropshire flight season underway!

Despite extensive searching Stephen Barlow found no further Common Darters at Whixall and the last known sighting was on 18th November but unfortunately on the Welsh side of the Moss! Keep me posted if you catch any last minute glimpses before colder weather sets in.

In the meantime Jan Shields has sent in some interesting pics taken in mid October. This female Southern Hawker was seen to move leaves- picking them up with her legs and ‘throwing’ them into the nearby pond. This enabled her to access the mossy stones underneath for egg laying. It seems a bizarre choice with a pond nearby, but she had apparently just had a near miss with a blackbird and was possibly looking for something more covert. Following this behaviour she then proceeded to lay eggs on a windfall apple for good measure! Jan will be keeping a close eye on this apple next spring!

Stephen Barlow reports 2 more Common Darters seen at Whixall Moss on 13th November and ‘a hawker’ -the latter just inconveniently over the border in Wales! The latest recorded sighting of Common Darter in Shropshire was by Stephen on November 20th 2015 on Brown Moss which is only a week away so we could be on for a record breaker if things stay mild…