By now you must have gathered that Derek Whiteley and myself are putting the finishing touches to the Dragonfly Atlas, and that this summer will be your last chance to record observations for inclusion. We may be compiling it, but it is a Sorby publication, and it represents your hard work and knowledge as much as ours. This would therefore be a good year to finally get around to trying your hand at identifying these beautiful creatures and making a valuable contribution to their study and conservation.
Please note all records of dragonflies and damselflies and send them to us at the Sheffield City Museum by the end of the year. We are happy (indeed obliged!) to help with identifications, especially of cast larval skins that you may find. These can be particularly interesting and indicate breeding better than any other method. They can also provide a better estimate of population size than sightings of adults.
Bob Warburton recently reported several Large Red Damselflies* in his garden in Totley. Upon closer inspection of the pondside vegetation, he recorded no fewer than 151 fresh larval skins from whence the adults he recorded had emerged. Perhaps you too might consider looking for these very reliable signs of the insects' breeding success and pass on your findings.
The other great thing about these exuviae is that you have a verifiable reference specimen without ever having to catch or kill a single specimen!
*Species of the Month : Large Red Damselfly, Pyrrhosoma nymphula. A robust red or orange damselfly with black bands, black legs and red eyes. Unmistakable.
Paul Richards