Hairy Dragonfly has been seen at Lynclys Quarry reportedly in the ‘woody bit’ on 4th May by Anna McCann. Anna sent in this photo of the male which shows clearly the prominent tapering antehumeral stripes, the hairy thorax and the strange shaped blue dots on the abdomen described as pairs of pears. This is the only mosaic hawker flying this early in the year and adds to just a handful of records ever made in Shropshire so it’s a great spot! This species is increasing it’s range so definitely keep an eye out for small early hawkers and of course their exuviae.
Elsewhere, Ron Kinrade has seen the first Four-spotted Chasers emerging near Bromlow Callow. His photos show how no black colouration is visible at the wing node on emergence, but fairly quickly appears in the second photo enabling identification.
