This group of insects belong to the order Odonata which is very well represented on the Lowes. After mating, females lay their eggs in submerged aquatic vegetation. The eggs hatch into an aquatic larval form called a nymph which spends at least one year predating aquatic organisms under water. With all the streams and ponds on the Lowes, is a very good location for such species. In dragonflies the wings are held at right angles to the thorax and level with it. In most Damselflies the wings are folded backwards above the body.
Dragonflies
Keeled Skimmer
The most iconic insect on the Lowes, until a few years ago this was the only site for this dragonfly in East Anglia. Positive management over the last 25 years has resulted in a massive increase in the number of Keeled Skimmers on the Lowes and this may be the reason that the species has now colonised (or re-colonised) other sites in Norfolk, such as Beeston Common and Roydon Common.
Emperor Dragonfly
This is the UK’s largest Dragonfly. and it is very distinctive. Females are more sombre green and blue. The larva or nymph is a large and powerful predator of aquatic life including tadpoles, crustacea and other insect larvae
You can see these two in action in the video:
Southern Hawker
The large Dragonflies in the UK are generally known as hawkers. This species is common and distinctive. They patrol woodland and shrubby rides looking for prey.
Brown Hawker
This is not a species often seen on the Lowes. It is very distictive and unmistakeable with its orange/brown wings
Migrant Hawker
This is a later summer emerger, from July through to quite late in the Autumn. Whist it is a native, it is thought that UK populations can be enlarged by migrants from the continent
Adults are a degree smaller than all the other Hawkers, so timing and size help in ID’ing this species
4-spot Chaser
Chasers are a group of 3 species in the UK with a distinctly wide and flattend abdomen. The characteristically perch on tall plants so that they get a good view over their feeding area. They also rest with their wings slightly pushed forward and down. 4-spots are common and widespread. they get their name from the spot half way along the front of each wing. Each rectangular black cell towards the tip of each wing is called a pterostyima (pl. pterostygmata). Their colour and shape can be useful in species identification
Broad-bodied Chaser
This chaser is again quite common and is much more dispersive than the 4-spot. It is perhaps the most likely to visit garden ponds for instance. The body- shape is very “broad-bodied” Males are predominantly blue and females yellow. The exuviae (the dried larval skin after the adult has emerged )of this species are some of the easiest to find and recognise
Common Darter
Darters are the smallest of the dragonfly genera in the UK. This species is widespread and emerges in mid summer and is often around until November. Males are red/orange and females orange/yellowish, blue-grey underneathYou can see this pair is mating in the love heart position. The male grabs the female behind the head with his tip of the abdomen claspers. The male genital openings are at the top of the abdomina tip but those of the female are at the tip – hence theneed for this position for them to combine!
Ruddy Darter
Also later summer emergers, this species is a less common than the previous. The males are very distinctive bright red colour, with a narrowing of the abdomen followed by a bulge at the tip. Also the black spots in that region in the centre. females are yeloow and black. the males eyes are also red unlike those of the Common Darter.
After mating the couple fly in tandem (male first- still clasping the female behind the head) low over the water and the female dips her addomen down to the water to drop a egg each time she does that. Sometimes they just drop eggs onto nearby vegetation
After mating the couple fly in tandem (male first- still clasping the female behind the head) low over the water and the female dips her addomen down to the water to drop a egg each time she does that. Sometimes they just drop eggs onto nearby wet vegetation around the water body. The male takes the female to lay the eggs he has fertilized. If he wasn’t there the female could mate again and not lay his offspring. This is a common feature in many dragonfly and damselfly species
Damselflies
Large Red Damselfly
This is our commonest Damselfly and the earliest to emerge in Spring – usually end of April / early May. This pair are in tandem
This is what their Nymph looks like. they have 3 feathery gills at the end of their abdomen
Blue-tailed Damselfly
This is a very common species and readily identified. It is found on most of the ponds on the Lowes
Azure Damselfly
Another common species on the Lowes.The ID features are the blue stripes on the thorax and particularly the U-shaped blacl mark on the 1st abdominal segment. The shape of these marks here are a major way of separating the species
As mentioned with dragonflies, it is very common to see the male still attached to the female to ensure she is laying the eggs he fertilized. In this species this is often a communal affair.
Common Blue Damselfly
The last of the common species on the Lowes. The key Id feature is a dot on the 1st thoaracic segment. Otherwise this like all the above species can be found anywhere where there is a pond
Emerald Damselfly
The Common Emerald is anything but on the Lowes. It’s numbers have fluctated over the years, but that is in part due to no regular census of them over the recent 20 years or so.
Notice this genus holds its wings out to the sides, not above its body, The key ID features between it and its relative, the Scarce Emerald (below) is the extent of the blue on the first 2 abdominal segment. It covers both here.
Scarce Emerald Damselfly
This species has only been seen a few times on the Lowes. The blue colour is confined to the first one and a half abdominal segment. Also the structure of the male claspers is different in the two species. The inner appendages (right image) are wide and cirved, those of the Common Lestes are thin and rounded in cross section.