Dragonflies update

At this point I seem to be updating the blog at a rate of once a month. Apologies to any avid followers ;). It’s certainly not due to a lack of interest but rather a lack of time. The logical thing to do at this point is to make the effort to make at least one update a week. Will see how it goes.

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)

In my last post I said I would wait to get some common darter shots as they hadn’t emerged en masse yet. Indeed they are now in all the usual spots.

A female showing the yellow lined legs that help distinguish common from ruddy. Its usually the first thing I look for when I encounter a darter. Red veined darter shares the yellow on legs but is much rarer.

A male out in little island. It took a while but I managed to get this one with tripod and my 135mm lens

I can't be a 100 per cent that this is a common because yellow on legs isn't visible, abdomen looks slightly waisted, has a uniform brown abdomen and its quite bright. This could imply ruddy. Still its most likely a common as all the nearby insects where common and there seems to be a hint of orange on the abdomen.

Face to face on a rainy day

Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)
I also had the pleasure of visiting Lough Aderry which is one of Cork’s few sites for black tailed skimmer. This dragonfly proved to be one of the most approachable species this year. It likes stony surfaces and indeed most of them where sitting on the walls right by the car park. I may have looked somewhat peculiar to passersby hanging upside down off the edge, but it was worth it! A week or two later I spotted two in the Gearagh in Macroom as well. This seems to be a new location for them It seems doubtful that they where fully established and breeding there but I don't know enough about this species to say with any certainty. 

A mating pair. The female looks quite similar to a four spot chaser in flight but the male stands out

A nice looking insect, and quite aproachable

Black Darter (Sympetrum danae). 
This is mainly a bog-land species that can be quite difficult to find in this part of the country. I was delighted therefore to encounter one this morning. I thought it could well be a ruddy female until I got home but the black pterostigma and the abdominal+thorax pattern perfectly match black darter female.

The male is almost completely black. I hope to photograph one in the coming weeks.

Black pterostigma, black legs, more black on thorax then a ruddy female and black abdominal underparts identify this as a female black darter.

Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)

This is a species I have been looking out for all summer. Having checked hundreds of common darters at this point I finally found a few today and I must say it is quite a stunning dragonfly. Its one of those species where you’re not quite sure you will be able to tell it apart from similar species but I could tell once I got a good look at it. 

Black legs, saffron patches at wing bases, deep red eyes and waisted appearance make this a ruddy darter male.

Ruddy’s seem to have a notable preference for sitting on plants and shrubs whereas male common darters like to be at ground level. That said female common darters also seem to have a preference for sitting on vegetation. Not sure if these traits are universal.

Face to face. The ‘sunburnt’ face is a good indicator for ruddy. You can also see the abdominal waisting and the black legs in this shot.

Hanging in there

I changed the list a little. Southern hawker is removed because it’s rarer then I realized and lesser emperor has been added because its more frequent then I thought. I have my fingers crossed for the 3 hawker species brown, migrant and common in the next few weeks.

The list so far
Hairy hawker (seen) 
Common hawker (seen most likely in Little island, unconfirmed as could be an emperor)
Brown hawker
Migrant hawker
Lesser emperor
Emperor hawker (seen) 
Downy emerald (seen) 
Northern emerald
Four spot chaser (seen) 
Keeled skimmer
Black tailed skimmer (seen)
Common darter (seen) 
Red veined darter
Ruddy darter (seen)
Black darter (seen)

Dragonflies 2013

Ireland, has a rather low biodiversity when it comes to dragonfly species with only 6 hawkers, 2 emeralds, 1 chaser, 2 skimmers and 4 darters (excluding a couple of random rarities). This is quite unusual amongst insect groups, and indeed the odonate family is very small compared to other invertebrate groups worldwide (odonates 6,000 species, beetles 350-400,000). Of the 15 regular dragonflies, I have so far managed to see 5 this year, which might seem a little low, but the majority of the hawkers and darters aren’t around yet or are only starting to emerge.

Emperor hawker/dragonfly (Anax imperator)
The emperor is the largest and most impressive of the Irish dragonflies dwarfing the much smaller damselflies. I was lucky enough to get a shot with both an adult emperor and several azure damselflies landing on its back in one shot. I’m uncertain if the azures saw a potential mate in their giant cousin or if they where daring enough to try and chase it off. Either way it made for a great photo op. The site in Blarney where I watch these dragonflies yearly seems to have less this year. Not sure if this because like many insects they are late this year or if it’s because their favourite patch of wild grassland has been cut short.





Hairy hawker/dragonfly (Brachytron pratense)
On a walk where I was hoping to photograph meadow brown butterflies I randomly spotted a dragonfly landing nearby. I assumed this to be a very early common hawker but soon discovered that it was a hairy! It is a minor miracle that I got as good a shot as I did from 3 meter distance with a 55mm lens without tripod. After a bit of research I discovered that this is in fact the first Cork city sighting on record with only one nearby record from Midleton dated to 1969.



Downy emerald (Cordulia aenea)
This is one I very much wanted to see this year. With only a few suitable sites around the country I took a trip out with Floss to Glengarrif to try and find them. We did indeed find one individual but never managed to photograph it at rest. The shot below is unfortunately my only one.



Four spot chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata)
One of Ireland’s most common and also most approachable dragonflies. Four spots have quite a stunning pattern to their wings with the four spots being unique amongst the Irish species.






Common darter (Sympetrum striolatum)
I have glimpsed several darters over the past month but have only been able to confirm one as common darter a few days ago because it had yellow lines on its legs, a diagnostic feature. As this species is not yet emerged in most of its sites I will wait until later in the season to post pictures.

The list so far 
Hairy hawker (seen) 
Common hawker
Brown hawker
Migrant hawker
Southern hawker
Emperor hawker (seen) 
Downy emerald (seen) 
Northern emerald
Four spot chaser (seen) 
Keeled skimmer
Black tailed skimmer
Common darter (seen) 
Red veined darter
Ruddy darter
Black darter

Dragonflies, counting up 2012

I am counting up the odonate species from the spring to autumn season of 2012 today. I must say I feel a little cheated as one of the best photo shoots I had recently was trapped on my camera when unfortunately it got stolen. That took care of four spotted chaser and emperor dragonfly which I had with great care and patience managed to approach. Grumbling aside, I did rather better with damselflies then dragonflies.

1. Banded demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) 
From my trip to Carlow I found these beauties clinging to the reeds everywhere by the river. Stunning and a delight are terms I would gladly use for this species. I also found some right in the city centre but couldn’t approach them.

2. Beautiful demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) 
Considerably harder to approach due to its habit of flying to a nearby tree top when interrupted. Perseverance got me some alright shots though I feel with more time I could have done better.

3. Large red damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) 
Another new one for me this year. The large red damselfly does exactly what it sais on the tin and is rather easy to identify given that it’s the only red species in Ireland.

4. Azure damselfly (Coenagrion puella) 
One of Ireland’s several blue species; the azure can be distinguished most easily by the markings at the base of its tail. This is the blue I encountered most often this year.

5. Common blue damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) 
Much like the above species but again with different markings, the common blue has a different less azure shade (obviously I suppose). My main sight for them is Blarney castle gardens.

6. Blue tailed damselfly (Ischnura elegans) 
Another blue damselfly; this one is not however in the same family and can quite clearly be told apart by its mostly black abdomen which has a bright blue end. Sometimes in flight this delicate creature looks like its carrying a tiny blue light on its tail.

7. Emerald damselfly (Lestes sponsa)
I really wanted to see one of these and after considerable late season searching one is what I got, in the shade with overcast skies, because of this the colours of this species don’t really show in this shot.

8. Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator) 
Large and impressive species that has moved into Irish parts only recently but is now relatively easy to find. The below shot was meant as a preview of the pictures to come on facebook but now stand as my only emperor pic this year.

9. Migrant hawker (Aeshna mixta) 
Like its name suggests this hawker is migratory and like the emperor it is pretty new in Ireland. It seems to be more approachable then its cousins the common and brown hawkers.

10. Common darter (Sympetrum striolatum) 
My most photographed dragonfly, the common darter appears late in the season but is quite plentiful in places.

Other species I spotted but did not manage to photograph where ruddy darter, black darter, red veined darter, common hawker, brown hawker (likely) & four spotted chaser. Until summer 2013 then for these guys!

Sun day soon

Last week I set out on a trek from little island to Cobh, I was hoping to find dragonflies and butterflies, specifically ruddy darters, common hawkers, migrant hawkers and painted ladies.

The morning started out with great sunlight. Fota gardens was positively buzzing with dozens of mating common darters laying in the ponds and even a few hunting out on the cut grass in front of the mansion there. I was hoping for a ruddy somewhere but ended up finding no evidence of them there. Still, I got some close-ups of the common darter

Ok, a great start, but as I was ready to continue my walk the sun disappeared and was replaced by that flat grey light we Irish inhabitants all know so well, and that’s how it stayed. The entire walk revealed only one speckled wood, even the reserve outside Cobh had no hawkers, even though they where there this time last year. It’s amazing how clouds make insects vanish almost instantaneously. I settled instead on taking some scenery shots. I did find this gadwall in Cuskinny in with the mallards.

The below shots are HDR’s, intentionally exaggerated, they are not intended as an exercise in realism as my nature photographs are but rather are made to look like say an album cover, I am a big fan of Travis Smith’s covers, so I guess that’s what influences me here.

Back in business

I am finally back in business. I managed to get a new canon 1100D. It’s not a huge leap from my last cam - still a beginner’s model, but for the mean time it is more than adequate. More saving is required to get a second hand zoom lens as the 200mm I’m using is not quite the best at getting distant birds ;). Insects however I can quite easily get and I have started using my cheap but handy diopter filter again to get some close-ups of this year’s final odonates and butterflies. Anyway, a few of my new shots.

The peacock butterfly is stunning at the best of times, but these current newborn individuals have an extra vibrancy to them that’s quite noticeable.

Red admirals are so approachable that it really should be much easier to get a good shot of them. Maybe it’s their large size or the fact that the orange colour always manages to look like the white balance is wrong, or their tendency to sit on swaying branches, but I really struggle to capture these guys. Lovely insect tho

Busy probing

Meadow brown I think. I was surprised to find this species within walking distance of my house. Not an amazing looking butterfly in flight but quite nice looking when it sits still.

Common darter. Focusing on the wings fast enough is something I have yet to master so I focused on the eyes instead. This species is usually a lot more colourful. Yellow bands on the legs and yellow sides distinguish this dragonfly from the closely related ruddy and black darters.

A lot easier to get them in focus from this angle. Darters are odd, sometimes they are flighty, sometimes they pose quite happily and other times they almost look to be attacking me in an attempt to protect their territories.

A spider, these arachnids often sit in shadows and using flash on them often gives surprising detail, they also don’t seem to overexpose as much with the flash on as other bugs.