Journal Vol 28 No 1, April 2012
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
J. Br. Dragonfly Society, Volume 28 No. 1, April 2012 Journal of the CONTENTS STEVE CHAM – A study of Southern Hawker Aeshna cyanea British Dragonfly Society emergence from a garden pond ........................................1 Volume 28 Number 1 April 2012 LESLEY KERRY & RICHARD A. BAKER – The terrestrial mite Leptus killingtoni Turk (Acari: Erythraeidae) as a parasite of the Small Red Damselfly Ceriagrion tenellum and other odonates ...........................................................................21 GEOFFREY H. HALL – Pseudopupils in Odonata ..............27 JOHN HORNE – The occurrence of the Broad-bodied Chaser Libellula depressa L. at a nature reserve in Hampshire over a period of 25 years and a description of pruinescence in females ..............................................................................37 ALEX PICKWELL, DOROTHY E. GENNARD, PAM TAYLOR & RICHARD CHADD The Norfolk Hawker Aeshna isosceles (Müller): a step further from the brink? ...........................44 The aims of the British Dragonfly Society (BDS) are to promote and encourage the study and conservation INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS of Odonata and their natural habitats, especially in the United Kingdom. Authors are asked to study these instructions with care and to prepare their manuscripts accordingly, in order The Journal of the British Dragonfly Society, published twice a year, contains articles on Odonata that have to avoid unnecessary delay in the editing of their manuscripts. been recorded from the United Kingdom and articles on European Odonata written by members of the • Word processed manuscripts may be submitted in electronic form either on disk or by e-mail. Society. • Manuscripts should be one and a half spaced, on one side of the page only and with margins at least 25mm on both sides and top and bottom. Footnotes should be avoided. Articles for publication should be sent to the Editor. Instructions for authors appear inside the back cover. • Use of these terms is acceptable: ‘exuvia’ for cast skin (plural: ‘exuviae’); ‘larva’ (instead of ‘naiad’ or Trustees of the British Dragonfly Society Journal Advisory Panel: ‘nymph’); ‘prolarva’ to designate the first larval instar. Chairman: P.Taylor T.G. Beynon • Dates in the text should be expressed in the form: 24 July 2010. Vice-Chairman: D.E. Gennard S.J. Brooks • References cited in the text should be in the form ‘(Longfield, 1949)’ or ‘...as noted by Longfield (1949)’. Secretary: H.G. Curry D. Mann All references cited in the text (and only these) should be listed alphabetically at the end of the article in Treasurer: B.J. Walker the following forms: Convenor of the Dragonfly ConservationGroup: D. Smallshire Hammond, C.O. 1983. The Dragonflies of Great Britain and Ireland 2nd Edition (revised by R. Merritt), Harley Books, Colchester, 116pp. Ordinary Trustees Back numbers of the Journal can be purchased Longfield, C. 1949.The Dragonflies of the London area. The London Naturalist 28: 90-98. S.C. Davidson from the BDS Shop at £2.00 per copy to • Titles of journals should be written out in full. D. Mainwaring members or £5.50 per copy to non-members. • Figures, plates and tables should be presented on separate, unnumbered pages. A. Nelson email: [email protected] • Legends for figures, plates and tables should be presented together in sequence on separated, M.P. Tyrrell unnumbered pages. • The legend for each table and illustration should allow its contents to be understood fully without Officers reference to the text. Chief Executive: G. Roberts Please refer to a recent issue of the journal for further style details. Conservation Officer: C. Install Species Reviews: Various species reviews are in the process of being written so if anyone is ‘Dragonflies in Focus’ Project Officer: S. Prentice SCIENTIFIC AND ENGLISH NAMES OF BRITISH ODONATA considering writing a review of their favourite ADDRESSES species, please contact the Editor first. ZYGOPTERA DAMSELFLIES Aeshna juncea Common Hawker Editor: Calopteryx splendens Banded Demoislle Aeshna mixta Migrant Hawker P.J. Mill Calopteryx virgo Beautiful Demoiselle Anax ephippiger Vagrant Emperor 8 Cookridge Grove Lestes barbarus Southern Emerald Damselfly Anax imperator Emperor Dragonfly Ordinary membership annual subscription £20.00. Lestes dryas Scarce Emerald Damselfly Anax junius Green Darner Leeds, LS16 7LH Lestes sponsa Emerald Damselfly Anax parthenope Lesser Emperor Overseas subscription £25.00. email: [email protected] Lestes viridis Willow Emerald Damselfly Brachytron pratense Hairy Dragonfly Benefactor membership £40 (minimum) Sympecma fusca Winter Damselfly Gomphus flavipes Yellow-legged Clubtail All subscriptions are due on 1st April each year. Coenagrion armatum Norfolk Damselfly Gomphus vulgatissimus Common Club-tail Secretary: Coenagrion hastulatum Northern Damselfly Cordulegaster boltonii Golden-ringed Dragonfly H.G. Curry Coenagrion lanulatum Irish Damselfly Cordulia aenea Downy Emerald Other subscription rates (library, corporate) on 23 Bowker Way Coenagrion mercuriale Southern Damselfly Somatochlora arctica Northern Emerald application to the Membership Secretary, who will Coenagrion puella Azure Damselfly Somatochlora metallica Brilliant Emerald Whittlesey Coenagrion pulchellum Variable Damselfly Oxygastra curtisii Orange-spotted Emerald also deal with membership enquiries. Peterborough, PE7 1PY Coanagrion scitulum Dainty Damselfly Leucorrhinia dubia White-faced Darter email: [email protected] Erythromma najas Red-eyed Damselfly Leucorrhinia pectoralis Large White-faced Darter BDS Website: www.british-dragonflies.org.uk Erythromma viridulum Small Red-eyed Damselfly Libellula depressa Broad-bodied Chaser Pyrrhosoma nymphula Large Red Damselfly Libellula fulva Scarce Chaser Librarian / Archivist: Enallagma cyathigerum Common Blue Damselfly Libellula quadrimaculata Four-spotted Chaser Ischnura elegans Blue-tailed Damselfly Orthetrum cancellatum Black-tailed Skimmer D. Goddard Ischnura pumilio Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly Orthetrum coerulescens Keeled Skimmer 30 Cliffe Hill Avenue Ceriagrion tenellum Small Red Damselfly Crocothemis erythraea Scarlet Darter Stapleford Platycnemis pennipes White-legged Damselfly Sympetrum danae Black Darter Nottingham, NG9 7HD Sympetrum flaveolum Yellow-winged Darter Cover illustration: Pruinescence on a female of ANISOPTERA DRAGONFLIES Sympetrum fonscolombii Red-veined Darter email: [email protected] Aeshna affinis Southern Migrant Hawker Sympetrum pedemontanum Banded Darter Libellula depressa. Photograph by John Horne. Aeshna caerulea Azure Hawker Sympetrum sanguineum Ruddy Darter Aeshna cyanea Southern Hawker Sympterum striolatum* Common Darter* Membership Secretary Aeshna grandis Brown Hawker Sympetrum vulgatum Vagrant Darter L. Curry Aeshna isosceles Norfolk Hawker Pantala flavescens Wandering Glider The Journal of the British Dragonfly Society is 23 Bowker Way printed by Artisan Litho, Abingdon, Oxford. Whittlesey * Includes dark specimens in the north-west formerly treated as a separate species, Sympetrum nigrescens Highland Darter. www.artisanlitho.co.uk Peterborough, PE7 1PY Species list in accordance with Davies, D.A.L. & Tobin, P. (1984 & 1985) The Dragonflies of the World: A systematic list of the extant species of email: [email protected] Odonata. Vols 1 & 2. Registered Charity No. 800196 J. Br. Dragonfly Society, Volume 28 No. 1, 2012 1 A study of Southern Hawker Aeshna cyanea emergence from a garden pond. Steve Cham 24 Bedford Avenue, Silsoe, Bedfordshire, MK45 4ER Summary The construction in 2001 of a garden pond in close proximity to the author’s house provided an opportunity for close study of emergence patterns, behaviour and predation of Southern Hawker Aeshna cyanea. This study discusses the impact of weather conditions and predation on emergence success over a period of several years. Exhaustive daily exuviae counts reveal differences in patterns of emergence in each year, influenced by larval development as well as periods of heavy rain and low temperatures. Predation by birds and wasps had a significant effect on the survival of emerging adults in some years Introduction Garden ponds represent an important habitat for dragonflies in Britain with Southern Hawker Aeshna cyanea known to favour and breed regularly at such sites. The study pond, approximately 5x4 metres, and with a maximum depth of 1 metre, was dug in June 2001, within one month of moving house, and is situated within one metre of a conservatory on the south facing side of the house (TL082357). The close proximity facilitates daily observations across the pond, from both inside and outside the house (Plates 1 & 2). Marginal and submerged vegetation were planted in year one and have become well established. Marginal plants comprised Flowering Rush Butomus umbellatus (Plates 1 and 2, location A), Bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata (Plates 1 and 2, location B), Monkey Musk Mimulus, Purple Loostrife Lythrum salicaria , Spike Rushes Eleocharis sp (Plate 1, location C), Water Forget-me-Not Myosotis scorpioides, Water Mint Mentha aquatica, Water Plantain Alisma plantago- aquatica, Yellow Flag Iris Iris pseudochorus. Submerged and floating plants included Duckweeds Lemna sp (not deliberately planted), Fringed Water Lily Nymphoides peltata, Broad leaved Pondweed Potamegeton natans, Hornwort Ceratophyllum demersum and Milfoil Myriophyllum. There was no deliberate introduction of A. cyanea larvae and all plant samples were checked for larvae before planting.