Dragonflies of La Brenne & Vienne

Naturetrek Tour Report 18 – 25 June 2015

Western Clubtail (Gomphus pulchellus) female Orange-spotted Emerald (Oxygastra curtisii) male

Report & images compiled by Nick Ransdale

Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk

Dragonflies of La Brenne & Vienne Tour Report

Tour Participants: Nick Ransdale (leader) with a group of Naturetrek clients

Summary

This two-centre holiday in central-western France gave an excellent insight into not only the dragonfly species, but also the abundant butterflies, birds and other wildlife of the region. The first two days were spent in the southern Vienne before we moved to the bizarre landscape of the Pinail reserve, and finally to Mezieres, where we spent three days in La Brenne: 'land of a thousand lakes'. This spring had been particularly wet, so we were very fortunate that dry, sunny weather broke the trend just before the tour started. Daily maximum temperatures averaged 29°C; in fact the last two days were a little too hot for finding flying insects in any numbers because temperatures much over 30°C can be counterproductive. However, in these near perfect conditions, we found 41 species of dragonflies (tour average 40), 36 species of butterflies, 99 bird species, and a wide range of other animals and plants that the combined talents of the group helped to find and identify. Amongst the ‘star finds’ were Dusk Hawker, Yellow Clubtail, both Yellow-spotted and Orange-spotted Emeralds, and both 'whitefaces'. During the last two days we took the opportunity to visit several of the hides that now grace La Brenne, enjoying great views of some of La Brenne's special birds. Overall it was a very successful trip with superb weather!

Day 1 Thursday 18th April

Weather: Bright and sunny. Maximum 27°C. The train from Lille arrived at Poitiers ten minutes late at 4.50pm - unusual for the TGV! We met outside Poitiers station and having made our introductions, continued our journey to the Hotel de France, Montmorillon. We arrived at the hotel at around 6.25pm, giving plenty of time to freshen up before dinner. We dined at 7.30pm and discussed our program for the coming week. After a delicious meal in the newly refurbished restaurant, an early night was taken after the days’ travelling through northern France.

Day 2 Friday 19th April

Weather: Fine and sunny. Maximum 28°C. After a very filling buffet breakfast, all members of the tour had definitive views of a Dusk Hawker that flew through the front door of the hotel and landed on the wall! Photographs were taken and shown to the leader who was outside and missed it; and there it was – a superb male! This species is a river specialist here, and the hotel is right beside the river Gartempe.

We then headed out to an etang in the commune of Persac. Etangs are man-made lakes which may vary greatly in size, and are usually fished either commercially or for sport (or both); the target species is often carp. The weather was warm and sunny, and soon we found a good number of species on this communal fishery. Our first Banded Demoiselles, Beautiful Demoiselles, lots of Small Red Damselflies, many Blue-tailed Damselflies, and several White-tailed Skimmers were all found around the water's edge. This last species doesn't occur in UK, and both males and females can be tricky to differentiate from Black-tailed Skimmer, especially in flight: both species are common here. The margins of the etang also held reasonable numbers of Orange White-legged Damselflies, a rather localised Vienne species and difficult to find in La Brenne. Our first Western Clubtail was also seen here, and the first each of Willow Emerald Damselfly and Orange-spotted Emerald. Two male Scarce Chasers were also found; a species which here lives up to its name as this is the only site on the tour where we sometimes find them.

Dragonflies of La Brenne & Vienne Tour Report

After lunch at Persac, we moved on to another communal fishery nearby. This former gravel pit beside the Vienne river provides a different habitat with a lake and a recently created overflow pond. Here we soon found our first Dainty Damselfly and our first Green-eyed Hooktails. Pride of place, though, must go to the two male Yellow Clubtails. This is a difficult species here, and again a river specialist.

Our final etang of the day was the Etang de Biais, on a private site near Moulismes. This produced our first Large Red-eyed Damselflies amongst several other species.

Our final stop of the day was an active sandpit with a Bee-eater colony, where we all enjoyed good views of four pairs plus several Sand Martins. However, when a Tawny Pipit appeared on the clifftop above the Bee-eater holes, it marked an appropriate end to a very good day. This is a very rare breeding species in the Vienne.

Butterflies seen during the day included Black-veined White, Adonis Blue, one Large Tortoiseshell, a Short-tailed Blue, and a Lesser Purple Emperor.

The first day of this tour is always a bit 'full-on' – but an excellent tally of 25 odonata species is always a good omen!

Day 3 Saturday 20th April

Weather: Fine and sunny. Maximum 30°C. Our first stop today was at another communal fishery near Plaisance. Unfortunately, as it was a Saturday with much human activity, there was nothing amongst the few odonata species that we hadn't all seen well yesterday. A nesting Melodious Warbler was very obliging though.

Next we made the short cross country drive east, to the river sites, stopping en route for lunch at the Etang Bourg Archambault. This is a delightful spot that often offers good photographic opportunities, particularly for Scarlet Darters and White-tailed Skimmers. Our first Small Red-eyed Damselflies were also seen here.

After lunch we headed off to look at a couple of river sites near La Trimouille. On our journey cross country we stopped for close up views of more Orange-spotted Emeralds and a pair of Woodchat Shrikes, a rare Vienne breeder. Our first stop was on a narrow river, the Asse, where soon we found a Common Clubtail, the only one of the trip. This species is usually at the end of its flight season by the time of the tour. Also here we saw the first of two Brilliant Emeralds, another scarce species normally only seen well in flight – and this one wasn't resting either – but again, good, definitive flight views. The tour's only Large Red Damselfly was also seen here, as was a single female Dusk Hawker and numerous Green-eyed Hooktails.

We moved on to try a slightly larger river, the Benaise, where we found many Beautiful Demoiselles, another male Brilliant Emerald and several Bee-eaters.

Although we fell just short of yesterdays’ tally of 25 species, today was definitely a matter of quality over quantity! 24 species were seen and our running total was 30.

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Dragonflies of La Brenne & Vienne Tour Report

Day 4 Sunday 21st April

Weather: Fine and sunny. Maximum 31°C. Today we headed north to Le Pinail reserve, north-east of Poitiers but still in the Vienne. The weather was again fine and sunny - this reserve is very exposed with no cover, so one always hopes for good weather.

We started our exploration of Le Pinail with a new species for the trip, Yellow-spotted Emerald; a superb male. This is only the second time this species has been recorded on this tour at Le Pinail (although we see them elsewhere). We subsequently found at least four Orange-spotted Emeralds, and Keith found a male Downy Emerald, making up a nice set of this group on the same site.

The star of the show here is Large White-faced Darter. We didn't have to wait long to find our first male, in fact a conservative estimate of eight were found during the course of the visit. This included a super immature male with six yellow abdominal spots - like the female only much slimmer and with a 'waisted' abdomen. Whitefaces are real sun-lovers, so again we were lucky with the weather: in cloudy, overcast and/or cooler conditions they seem to completely disappear into the undergrowth.

About halfway along the trail a male Norfolk Hawker appeared and posed very obligingly for photographs. It's always touch and go whether we see this species on the tour as it is another that is normally nearing the end of its flight period. Before we set out on the trail the warden had just returned from leading his own tour and told us he had found a male Lesser Emperor, a first record for the reserve. This species is rare on the tour and notoriously difficult to pin down as here, like Common Goldenring, it is a nomadic species with no discernible habitat preference. So when a male Lesser Emperor appeared near to where the Norfolk Hawker was, nobody was more surprised than the leader! Unfortunately only about half the group saw it.

We finally retraced our steps to the picnic area where we took a much needed lunch break. On the reserve we also saw two Hobbys, our first Bonelli’s Warblers, several Pearly Heaths, another Lesser Purple Emperor, and numerous Large Chequered Skippers.

After lunch we made the drive cross-country at a leisurely pace, taking in the unspoilt countryside of the Vienne and entering the subtly different countryside of La Brenne. On the way to our final destination Mezieres, we stopped at Angles-sur-l’Anglin to admire the view over the old town and enjoy a much needed ice cream.

Total species seen today was 17; the running total is 36.

Day 5 Monday 22nd April

Weather: Fine and sunny. Maximum 31°C. On our first day in La Brenne we visited a recently opened part of Cherine nature reserve – an area of scrub with four or five bodies of water of various sizes, although none very large. This habitat is great for emerald damselflies, and within a short while we’d seen both Small Emerald Damselfly and Common Emerald Damselfly in small numbers. The former species doesn't occur in the UK, although European distribution now extends almost up to the Channel coast. At least two Downy Emeralds were seen, and one male Lilypad Whiteface. This species seems to be benefiting from conservation work done on Cherine in recent years, although this individual stubbornly remained on the lilypads furthest from our only

Dragonflies of La Brenne & Vienne Tour Report

viewing position! However, much better views were to be obtained elsewhere in the afternoon. Darters, generally on this trip, were unusually hard to find, but we did see several Ruddy Darters to add to the two Common Darters we'd seen earlier in the week.

We moved on to take in Cherine reserve Maison de la Nature as it was directly on our route. Lilypad Whiteface can occasionally be found on the boardwalk to the Cistude hide but numbers are low, maybe one or two pairs only. We had no luck with those, but great views of some of the reserve's many bird species.

We took lunch at Le Bouchet covered picnic area. Le Bouchet is the headquarters of the national park authority and there is a very nice shop and restaurant as well as a small reserve with an etang. Afterwards we looked at the numerous Dainty Damselflies around the etang.

In the afternoon, we first visited a private site specifically for Lilypad Whiteface. A walk along the road produced Heath Spotted Orchid and Columbine. We arrived at the etang where our target species was seen almost immediately with two males flying over the lilypads. We all got good views eventually, with a male settling on lilypads very close to our viewing position. This is a rare species in France; the core area of population is much further east towards the Urals. At least two Downy Emeralds were also seen here, along with more Large Red- eyes and Small Red-eyes.

Moving back towards Cherine, we looked at an area of cut oak woodland where we saw more 'bouncing' Large Chequered Skippers and Pearly Heath butterflies.

Our final stop of the day was Beauregard, an etang that can be good for darters but also other odonata groups, as well as birds. It did produce our first Short-toed Eagle and Marsh Harrier, although odonata species were thin on the ground.

Butterfly species seen today included Swallowtail, Purple Emperor and Ringlet: bird species included Night Heron, and a Crested Tit outside the supermarket!

Total species seen today was 21, the running total is 39.

Day 6 Tuesday 23rd April

Weather: Fine and sunny. Maximum 28°C. The first stop of the morning was the etang de Bellebouche, a private etang with almost total public access thanks to the owners. Our walk along the sentier to the heronry often produces Yellow-spotted Emeralds, a species already seen at the Pinail. No luck this time, but at the heronry everything was in full swing with super views of young Purple Herons, Night Herons, Cattle Egrets and Little Egrets; several being fed by their parents. Overhead a pair of Black Kites constantly patrolled over their nest site in the Scots Pines.

With Yellow-spotted Emerald still the target species, we headed west to the other side of the same etang. Taking a sentier that skirts the reedbed, we eventually found our first male, and as the temperature rose we saw a total of

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Dragonflies of La Brenne & Vienne Tour Report

five individuals, all males. We also saw several White-tailed and Black-tailed Skimmers at rest next to each other, giving good opportunities to compare the females in particular.

We took a leisurely lunch near Bellebouche restaurant where we watched two Common Redstarts amongst several Black Redstarts.

We then headed north, stopping en route at a fairly remote site to see if there were many orchids left in bloom. Although most were past their best, we did see Common Twayblade, Greater Butterfly Orchid and Fragrant Orchid amongst one or two others.

Our final destination of the day was a site near Saulnay where the Brenne Orchid can be seen, although by this time most are usually nearly finished. Quite bizarrely, all were finished bar one plant that was in enough shade to escape being burnt off – this flower spike was near perfect. Here our target species was actually Variable Damselfly. Unfortunately we failed to find this or indeed many other insects at all. The lack of 'blue' damselflies in particular wasn't a good omen; however, we did find another Green-eyed Hawker, and several Keeled Skimmers.

Butterflies seen included Purple Hairstreak and Purple Emperor. Bird sightings included Short-toed Eagle, Sparrowhawk and Hobby.

Total species seen today 16, the running total is 39. Oh dear, the day we hit the wall – no new dragonflies: that said, five Yellow-spotted Emeralds on one site is exceptional for this tour.

Day 7 Wednesday 24th April

Weather: Fine and sunny. Maximum 32°C. Our final full day took us first to an etang near Migne, another coarse fishing lake. By now, even mid-morning temperatures were getting hot; clearly today was going to be hard work as insect activity generally diminishes from about 9.30 in the morning to 7 in the evening when it's this hot.

Although we had seen a few Common Emerald Damselflies during the week, Lestes numbers were low, and this was the only Lestes species we saw here, albeit in reasonable numbers. However, darter numbers had slowly started to rise over the week and, although still generally sparse, we started to see several Common Darters as well as the more numerous Ruddy Darters. Then - Bingo! Outside the small bird hide a female type Sympetrum darter finally settled on a seeding grass stem. Legs pale with thin black lines. Virtually no black markings on the abdomen. And most notably, very plain thorax sides with two thin lines and two very obvious dimples. Voila! Our first and only Southern Darter: an immature male, and a very well photographed one at that. This species is common here, but this is really near the beginning of their flying time. A female/immature Common Darter perched nearby on occasions, giving good comparisons. Many Small and Essex Skippers were seen here, although temptation was resisted to spend the rest of the day looking at the underside of antennae tips…

We retired to Le Bouchet for lunch; to the splendid covered picnic area next to the etang. This location serves us well on this tour come rain or shine! After lunch, with heat now becoming a problem, we moved on to Cherine reserve to visit some of the other hides not yet visited, and maybe to find another new odonata species now that we'd hit the 'magic 40' species.

Dragonflies of La Brenne & Vienne Tour Report

At Foucault we had good views of numerous new bird species including Red-crested Pochard, Great Egret, Black-winged Stilt, Common Snipe and two pairs of Common Terns, a rare breeding bird here.

Then on to Sous, the most well-known of the hides at Cherine and one that's fairly good for odonata as well. Here we saw an adult Little Bittern in flight, and one or two Great Reed Warblers briefly when they climbed to the top of the reed stems. Both species are rare but regular Brenne breeders.

At Purais we searched particularly for Black-necked Grebes. We'd had one or two fleeting glimpses during the week, and we had another single bird here but only briefly. This is normally a fairly common Brenne breeder (150+ pairs) and one of La Brenne's special birds; this year, although many arrived as normal in spring, most inexplicably moved on.

With the last chance for those who hadn't got decent views of the grebe, we moved on to our final site: Piegu. This etang near Mezieres can be good for odonata also. We soon all had good views of five Black-necked Grebes along with lots of wildfowl species and herons. Then a rather casual remark by David drew our attention to an insipid looking teneral damselfly. With a pale but definable thorax and abdominal pattern on a biscuit-coloured background, this was our first Common Winter Damsel. We pretty soon found another two individuals, all youngsters probably only emerged the previous evening. This is a common species here that may be seen all year round, but as most reproductive activity takes place in spring and late summer we often don't record this species on the tour. Bravo David!

Species seen today 18, the running total 41.

Day 8 Thursday 25th April

Weather: Fine and sunny. Maximum 32°C. We needed to be at Poitiers station at midday, so we left Mezieres at 9am, arriving at St-Savin, in the Vienne, at 10am where we parked in the beautiful town square. We visited the abbey church, a remarkable piece of 900-year-old architecture and a UNESCO site, situated beside the River Gartempe. Afterwards, we checked the river and found Banded Demoiselles. As the abbey was undergoing renovation work, we left slightly earlier than usual and stopped at a viewpoint overlooking the impressive medieval town of Chauvigny; a fitting way to end another visit to this delightful yet little-known part of France.

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Dragonflies of La Brenne & Vienne Tour Report

Species Lists

Odonata (= recorded but not counted)

June Common name Scientific name 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 Beautiful Demoiselle Calopteryx virgo    2 Banded Demoiselle Calopteryx splendens       3 Western Willow Spreadwing Lestes viridis     4 Small Spreadwing Lestes virens      5 Common Spreadwing Lestes sponsa        6 Common Winter Damselfly Sympecma fusca      7 Blue Featherleg Platycnemis pennipes        8 Orange Featherleg Platycnemis acutipennis  9 Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula       10 Small Red Damselfly Ceriagrion tenellum        11 Blue-eye Erythromma lindenii    12 Large Red-eye Erythromma najas        13 Small Red-eye Erythromma viridulum       14 Azure Bluet Coenagrion puella        15 Dainty Bluet Coenagrion scitulum      16 Common Bluet Enallagma cyathigerum       17 Common Bluetail Ischnura elegans        18 Green-eyed Hawker Aeshna isosceles    19 Blue Emperor Anax imperator        20 Lesser Emperor Anax parthenope   21 Western Spectre Boyeria irene       22 Common Clubtail Gomphus vulgatissimus       23 Western Clubtail Gomphus pulchellus        24 Yellow Clubtail Gomphus simillimus       25 Small Pincertail Onychogomphus forcipatus        26 Downy Emerald Cordulia aenea      27 Brilliant Emerald Somatochlora metallica      28 Yellow-spotted Emerald Somatochlora flavomaculata       29 Orange-spotted Emerald Oxygastra curtisii       30 Four-spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata        31 Blue Chaser Libellula fulva   32 Broad-bodied Chaser Libellula depressa        33 Black-tailed Skimmer Orthetrum cancellatum       34 White-tailed Skimmer Orthetrum albistylum        35 Keeled Skimmer Orthetrum coerulescens     36 Yellow-spotted Whiteface Leucorrhinia pectoralis      37 Lilypad Whiteface Leucorrhinia caudalis       38 Broad Scarlet Crocothemis erythraea        39 Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum     40 Southern Darter Sympetrum meridionale      41 Ruddy Darter Sympetrum sanguineum           Butterflies

1 Swallowtail Papilio machaon  2 Black-veined White Aporia crataegi        3 Large White Pieris brassicae     4 Small White Pieris rapae          

Dragonflies of La Brenne & Vienne Tour Report

June Common name Scientific name 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 5 Green-veined White Pieris napi   6 Clouded Yellow Colias crocea       7 Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni        8 Wood White Leptidea sinapis    9 Purple Hairstreak Quercusia quercus       10 Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas       11 Short-tailed Blue Everes argiades        12 Holly Blue Celastrina argiolus        13 Adonis Blue Lysandra bellargus    14 Purple Emperor Apatura iris       15 Lesser Purple Emperor Apatura ilia      16 White Admiral Limenitis camilla      17 Peacock Inachis io     18 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta        19 Painted Lady Cynthia cardui    20 Large Tortoiseshell Nymphalis polychloros        21 Comma Butterfly Polygonia c-album       22 Map Butterfly Araschnia levana        23 Silver-washed Fritillary Argynnis paphia       24 Marbled Fritillary Brenthis daphne        25 Heath Fritillary Mellicta athalia        26 Weaver's Fritillary Clossiana dia      27 Marbled White Melanargia galathea        28 Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina        29 Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus    30 Small Heath Coenonympha pamphilus        31 Pearly Heath Coenonympha arcania    32 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria       33 Large Chequered Skipper Heteropterus morpheus        34 Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola       35 Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris      36 Large Skipper Ochlodes venata           Birds

1 Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus    2 Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis        3 Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis        4 Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo       5 Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus      6 Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax       7 Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis       8 Little Egret Egretta garzetta       9 Great White Egret Egretta alba     10 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea        11 Purple Heron Ardea purpurea     12 Mute Swan Cygnus olor       13 Mallard Anas platyrhynchos        14 Gadwall Anas strepera     15 Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina        16 Pochard Aythya ferina        17 Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula            

8 © Naturetrek

Dragonflies of La Brenne & Vienne Tour Report

June Common name Scientific name 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 18 Black Kite Milvus migrans     19 Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus      20 Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus      21 Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus       22 Common Buzzard Buteo buteo        23 Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus    24 Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus        25 Hobby Falco subbuteo      26 Pheasant Phasianus colchicus       27 Water Rail Rallus aquaticus      28 Moorhen Gallinula chloropus        29 Coot Fulica atra      30 Stone Curlew Burhinus oedicnemus      31 Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus       32 Lapwing Vanellus vanellus        33 Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago      34 Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus        35 Common Tern Sterna hirundo    36 Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus        37 Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus        38 Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon Columba livia        39 Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto        40 Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur       41 Cuckoo Cuculus canorus      42 Common Swift Apus apus        43 Kingfisher Alcedo atthis  44 Bee-eater Merops apiaster       45 Hoopoe Upupa epops       46 Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major      47 Skylark Alauda arvensis       48 Sand Martin Riparia riparia       49 Swallow Hirundo rustica        50 House Martin Delichon urbica        51 Tawny Pipit Anthus campestris  52 Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis        53 White Wagtail Motacilla alba        54 Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea  55 Wren Troglodytes troglodytes       56 Dunnock Prunella modularis      57 Robin Erithacus rubecula       58 Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos       59 Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros        60 Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus    61 Stonechat Saxicola torquata        62 Blackbird Turdus merula        63 Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus  64 Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia       65 Cetti’s Warbler Cettia cetti       66 Great Reed Warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus       67 Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus        68 Melodious Warbler Hippolais polyglotta          

Dragonflies of La Brenne & Vienne Tour Report

June Common name Scientific name 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 69 Dartford Warbler Sylvia undata  70 Whitethroat Sylvia communis        71 Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla        72 Bonelli's Warbler Phylloscopus bonelli     73 Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita        74 Firecrest Regulus ignicapillus        75 Crested Tit Lophophanes cristatus    76 Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus      77 Great Tit Parus major       78 Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus      79 Marsh Tit Poecile palustris       80 Nuthatch Sitta europaea        81 Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla       82 Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio        83 Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator      84 Starling Sturnus vulgaris        85 Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus     86 Jay Garrulus glandarius      87 Magpie Pica pica       88 Jackdaw Corvus monedula        89 Carrion Crow Corvus corone       90 Rook Corvus frugilegus    91 House Sparrow Passer domesticus        92 Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs       93 Serin Serinus serinus    94 Greenfinch Chloris chloris      95 Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis        96 Linnet Linaria cannabina    97 Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra      98 Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella      99 Cirl Bunting Emberiza cirlus           Mammals

1 Coypu Mycocastor coypus   2 Brown Hare Lepus europaeus        3 Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus       4 Red Fox Vulpes vulpes       5 Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris      6 Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus              Amphibians

1 Edible Frog Rana esculenta             Reptiles

Wall Lizard Podarcis muralis       Green Lizard Lacerta bilineata        Grass Snake Natrix natrix            

Dragonflies of La Brenne & Vienne Tour Report

June Common name Scientific name 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Moths

1 5-spot Burnet Zygaena trifolii  2 Burnet Companion Euclidia glyphica        3 Cinnabar Tyria jacobaea       4 Common Heath Ematurga atomaria       5 Hummingbird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellarum       6 Magpie Moth Abraxas grossulariata      7 Lackey Malacosoma nuetria        8 Narrow Rose-banded Wave Rhodostrophia calabra       9 Common Forester Adscita statices             Other Invertebrates

1 Hornet Vespa crabro    2 Violet Carpenter Bee Xylocopa violacea        3 Carder Bee sp. Bombus sp.        4 White/Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus sp.    5 Honeybee Apis mellifera        6 Rose Chafer Cetonia aurata   7 Chafer sp. Hoplia caerulescens        8 Great Green Bush Cricket Tettigonia viridissima       9 Stag Beetle Lucanua cervus      10 Scorpion-fly sp. Panorpa communis       11 Nursery Web Spider Pisaurina mira           Notable Plants

1 Heath Spotted-orchid Dactylorhiza maculata   2 Common Spotted-orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii        3 Early Marsh Orchid Dactylorhiza incarnata       4 Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera        5 Twayblade Listera ovata       6 Brenne Orchid Dactylorhiza brennensis        7 Greater Butterfly-orchid Platanthera chlorantha        8 Fragrant Orchid Gymnadenia canopsea        9 Heath Lobelia Lobelia urens        10 Viper's Bugloss Echium vulgare      11 Small Scabious Scabiosa columbaria       12 Common Centaury Centaurium erythraea       13 Carthusian Pink Dianthus carthusianorum      14 Purple Loosestrife Lythrum salicaria        15 Rampion Bellflower Campanula rapunculus        16 Broomrape sp. Orobanche sp.  17 Columbine Aquilegia vulgaris       18 Lungwort Pulmonaria sp.        19 White Asphodel Ashodelus albus        20 Chicory Cichorum intybus       21 Common Cow-wheat Melampyrum pratense       22 Dragon’s Teeth Tetragonolobus maritimus       23 Deptford Pink Dianthus armeria       24 Hare's-foot Clover Trifolium arvense            

Dragonflies of La Brenne & Vienne Tour Report

June Common name Scientific name 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 25 Wild Strawberry Fragaria vesca   26 Spiked Star of Bethlehem Ornithogalum pyrenaicum       27 Ivy-leaved Toadflax Cymbalaria muralis       28 Basil Thyme Clinopodium acinos       29 Bastard Balm Melittis melissophyllum        30 Bird’s Foot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus      31 Biting Stonecrop Sedum acre       32 Common Milkwort Polygala vulgaris        33 Heath Milkwort Polygala serpyllifolia       34 Hoary Mullein Verbascum pulverulentum       35 Horseshoe Vetch Hippocrepis comosa       36 Kidney Vetch Anthyllis vulneraria       37 Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria        38 Mouse-ear Hawkweed Pilosella officinarum      39 Ragged Robin Lychnis flos-cuculi       40 Round-leaved Sundew Drosera rotundifolia    41 Agrimony Agrimonia eupatoria       42 Wild Thyme Thymus Serpyllum       43 European White Waterlily Nymphaea alba      44 Yellow Water-lily Nuphar lutea      45 Water Mint Metha aquatica       46 Pale Toadflax Linaria repens       47 Marsh St John’s Wort Hypericum elodes       48 Lesser Bladderwort Utricularia minor        49 Creeping Water-plantain Baldellia repens        50 Dyer's Greenweed Genista tintoria        51 Everlasting Pea Lathyrus latifolius            Dragonfly name changes Lestes viridis Western Willow Spreadwing (Willow Emerald Damselfly) Lestes barbarus Migrant Spreadwing (Southern Emerald Damselfly) Lestes sponsa Common Spreadwing (Emerald Damselfly) Lestes dryas Robust Spreadwing (Scarce Emerald Damselfly) Platycnemis pennipes Blue Featherleg (White-legged Damselfly) Erythromma lindenii Blue-eye (Goblet-marked Damselfly) Erythromma najas Large Red-eye (Red-eyed Damselfly) Erythromma viridulum Small Red-eye (Small Red-eyed Damselfly) Coenagrion mercuriale Mercury Bluet (Southern Damselfly) Coenagrion puella Azure Bluet (Azure Damselfly) Coenagrion pulchellum Variable Bluet (Variable Damselfly) Coenagrion scitulum Dainty Bluet (Dainty Damselfly) Enallagma yathigerum Common Bluet (Common Blue Damselfly) Ischnura elegans Common Blue-tail (Blue-tailed Damselfly) Ischnura pumilio Small Blue-tail (Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly) Aeshna affinis Blue-eyed Hawker (Southern Migrant Hawker) Aeshna cyanea Blue Hawker (Southern Hawker) Aeshna isosceles Green-eyed Hawker (Norfolk Hawker) Anax imperator Blue Emperor (Emperor Dragonfly) Boyeria irene Western Spectre (Dusk Hawker) Brachytron pratense Hairy Hawker (Hairy Dragonfly) Gomphus vulgatissimus Common Club-tail (Club-tailed Dragonfly) Libellula fulva Blue Chaser (Scarce Chaser) Leucorrhinia pectoralis Yellow-spotted (Large) Whiteface Crocothemis erythraea Broad Scarlet (Scarlet Darter)