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Tag Archives: Emperor dragonfly

249/366 Small creatures after rain

05 Saturday Sep 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects

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Tags

beetles, British insects, Brown-tail moth caterpillars, Brown-tail moth webs, Buff-tailed bumblebee, Emperor dragonfly, Knopper gall

Actually, it rained before my walk, during my walk and after I got home, but ‘Small creatures between showers’ was a bit long for a title. Here, then, are the said creatures …

200905 beetles

First up, these beetles were cosying up in an umbellifer flower head. I couldn’t see enough to identify them and wasn’t going to disturb their comfort to find out more.

200905 brown tails

This is a web of Brown-tail moth larvae, the ones some people freak out about because their hairs can irritate the skin. The solution to that problem is, of course, easy: look, enjoy, wonder, admire, but don’t touch!

200905 buff-tail queen

There weren’t many flying critters about but bumblebees will fly whatever the weather, as shown by this gorgeous queen Buff-tailed bumble.

200905 knopper gall

Perhaps the littlest creature, though I didn’t look in to investigate, was the one that was lurking in this Knopper gall (spot the antennae!).

200905 emperor

And, the prize for the most magnificent, was this male Emperor dragonfly. I had to linger a while, waiting for him to settle, and then sneak up behind the bushes, but His Imperial Majesty was definitely worth the wait. What a handsome creature he is, despite his somewhat ragged wings.

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192/366 Damsels and dragons

10 Friday Jul 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Blue-tailed damselfly, British damselflies, British dragonflies, Broad-bodied Chaser, Common blue damselfly, Common Darter, Emperor dragonfly

Last summer was so hot and dry that many of the local ponds dried up completely, which may be why I’m not seeing as many damselflies and dragonflies as I have in previous years – perhaps their larvae didn’t survive that dry period. Here are a few I have seen in recent weeks …

200710 blue-tailed damselfly

Blue-tailed damselfly: though the females come in several colour forms, both they and the males, like this one, have the blue spot on their lower abdomen, which is how they got their name.

200710 common blue immature female
200710 common blue male

Common blue damselflies, here an immature female, a male and, below, a pair in classic mating pose.

200710 common blues mating200710 broad-bodied chaser

And the dragons: a glowing female Broad-bodied chaser

200710 common darter

I’ve seen my first two Common darters in recent days, which is late, as they can appear as early as May.

200710 emperor female ovipositing

A female Emperor laying her eggs (ovipositing) under the vegetation of a local pond. Let’s hope that pond retains enough water this year for her offspring to survive the winter months.

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156/366 The Emperor

04 Thursday Jun 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Anax imperator, British dragonflies, Casehill Woods, dragonfly, Emperor dragonfly

200604 emperor dragonfly

This dragonfly was another of the beasties I found during Tuesday’s walk at Casehill Woods (see yesterday’s post A new hoverfly for the other). This is, of course, the largest of Britain’s dragonflies, a male Emperor (Anax imperator). This is not my first Emperor sighting of the year but it is the first I’ve managed to photograph – though it initially flew off along the ride in front of me, this beautiful creature very obligingly returned to where it had been perching and stayed put for me to admire it – which I most definitely did!

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228/365 Nom, nom, nom

16 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, British dragonflies, British moths, dragonfly eating moth, Emperor dragonfly, Oak eggar, Oak eggar moth

190816 emperor

Another male Emperor dragonfly eating his lunch photo – the only time I manage to catch them is when they’re eating! This time, thanks to a couple of my talented moth-er friends, I can confirm that the Emperor is munching on a male Oak eggar moth.

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216/365 Ovipositing

04 Sunday Aug 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, British dragonflies, dragonfly, dragonfly ovipositing, Emperor dragonfly, female Emperor ovipositing, Lavernock Nature Reserve, oviposit

Oviposit: verb; a zoological term, relating especially to insects, which means to lay an egg or eggs. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word first came in to use in the early 19th century and is a combination of ‘ovi’ for egg and ‘posit’, from the Latin verb ponere, meaning to place.

190804 female emperor (2)

Today, at Lavernock Nature Reserve, I was eating my lunch while sitting on the bench near the dragonfly pond, when this female Emperor dragonfly came along and began ovipositing, carefully manoeuvring her body to place several eggs beneath each lily pad before moving on to the next. All the while, her mate was patrolling overhead to ensure no one interfered with this important process.

190804 female emperor (1)

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210/365 Butterfly for brunch

29 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

British dragonflies, dragonfly, dragonfly eating butterfly, Emperor dragonfly, Meadow Brown

It’s often quite difficult to catch up with Emperor dragonflies as they seem to be in constant motion, patrolling their patch or hawking for food across flower-filled fields and meadows. But I spotted this one carrying a large load, relatively speaking, and, though dragonflies will often feed as they fly, this beautiful beast decided to pause and enjoy its brunch quite near to me.

190729 emperor dragonfly

You can’t really tell from my photo but it was munching on a Meadow brown. As I watched, first one wing, then another was plucked off and discarded, before the main course was consumed. Not exactly what I’d fancy for my brunch, and I did feel a little sorry for the butterfly, but this is the reality of wild life.

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Descrying dragons

21 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Black-tailed skimmer, British dragonflies, Common Darter, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, dragonflies, Emperor dragonfly, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Migrant hawker

I’ve not seen a huge number of dragonflies this summer, possibly because of the heatwave, which has seen water levels shrink to record lows and the pond at Lavernock Nature Reserve dry up altogether. Luckily, not all dragonflies spend their adult lives in close proximity to water so I have enjoyed some close encounters along field edges and pathways. Here are a few of those recent dragons.

180821 migrant hawker (1)
180821 migrant hawker (2)

These two are both Migrant hawkers; one was near the pond at Lavernock before it dried up completely, the other was just hanging around on vegetation beside the south Wales coastal path, a good choice as there are always an abundance of flying insects along the path’s hedgerows.

180821 emperor

This Emperor was hawking low over the tall wildflowers and grasses in one of the paddocks at Cosmeston. I had to wait quite a while for it to settle, then creep up very slowly and silently to get this photo, but it was worth the wait.

180821 Common darter male
180821 Common darter female

180821 Common darters mating

Last year at this time Cosmeston Lakes Country Park seemed to be swarming with Common darters – they sat like mini sculptures on every gate and fencepost, and there were so many sitting warming themselves on every piece of stone along the pathways that you had to be careful not to step on them. This year I’ve seen very few so it was a delight first to see this male (the red) and female in one paddock and then to spot the mating pair in another field. Let’s hope they return in numbers next year.

180821 black-tailed skimmers

Those Common darters weren’t the only mating dragonflies I almost disturbed at Cosmeston this week, as my stomping carelessly along the path homeward caused these two Black-tailed skimmers to fly up and away. Luckily, they didn’t fly far and I was able to get my camera out and take a few photos before leaving them to carry on their sterling efforts.

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Birding at RSPB Dungeness

31 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, insects, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, British butterflies, Common tern, Egyptian Goose, Emperor dragonfly, RSPB Dungeness, Snipe, Wood sandpiper

I had never been to RSPB Dungeness until my visit with my friend Jill two weeks ago but, if you can get past the fact that there’s a nuclear power station buzzing away just down the road, then you should be able to appreciate what a wonderful place it is. (British people seem to take nuclear power stations for granted but, as a nuclear-free New Zealander, I still find them quite scary places and really rather menacing!)

180731 Dungeness nuclear power station180731 RSPB Dungeness

This is a unique landscape of low rolling shingle banks, interspersed with patchy areas of low scrub and large shallow pools – it’s water bird heaven!

180731 Common terns (2)
180731 Common terns (1)

180731 Common terns (3)

Our first highlight was seeing the Common terns that breed at Dungeness. Terns are such agile flyers and to see their young fledglings was a real treat.

180731 Egyptian geese

Eqyptian geese have also bred here, and we saw a pair with two well-grown goslings.

180731 snipe

I had my best-ever views of a Snipe that decided to come out and poke around the muddy edges of one of the pools. These are normally such secretive birds so it was a real pleasure to watch this bird foraging.

180731 wood sandpiper

And the Snipe was joined by not one but two Wood sandpipers.

180731 water birds galore

Each of the six hides on the two-mile-long main trail offers different views, different birds, and, after motoring down to a cafe near the lighthouse (and that power station), we also stopped off on our return to check out the two shorter trails and hides on the opposite side of the road. Here we had good, though distant views of a Greenshank and a Bar-tailed godwit. Cracking!

180731 b Painted lady
180731 b peacock
180731 b small copper

As well as the birds, the wildflowers added lots of pretty colour to our wander, and we were entertained as we walked by large numbers of beautiful butterflies and debonaire dragonflies, though it wasn’t quite so pleasant watching an Emperor dragon biting the wings off a Gatekeeper.

180731 b emperor

Here’s my bird list for the day (not including a lot of smaller birds that were flitting about the bushes while I was marvelling at the butterflies): Teal, Lesser black-backed gull, Tufted duck, Mallard, Herring gull, Common tern (with young), Cormorant, Sandwich tern, Common sandpiper, Wood sandpiper (2), Snipe, Egyptian goose (and goslings), Ringed plover, Pochard, Little grebe, Great crested grebe, Lapwing,Coot, Dunlin, Goldeneye, Reed warbler, Redshank, Woodpigeon, Oystercatcher, Grey heron, Great white egret (2), Greylag goose, Mute swan, Black-headed gull, Shelduck, Shoveler, Carrion crow, Swallow, House martin, Greenshank, Bar-tailed godwit, Pied wagtail, Gadwall and Magpie.

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Lively Lavernock

12 Tuesday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Blue-tailed damselfly, Broad-bodied Chaser, Common blue butterfly, Emperor dragonfly, Large Red damselfly, Large skipper, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Six-spot burnet, Small copper, Speckled wood

Day 12 of my #30DaysWild was spent wandering around the nature reserve at Lavernock. Though it’s not yet the riot of colour it will be in another month or so, many wildflowers are already blooming, including the Common spotted and Pyramidal orchids, and plenty of critters were feasting on nectar and pollen.

180612 creature 1
180612 creature 2
180612 Pyramidal & Common spotted orchids

Today’s highlights included my first Six-spot burnet moth of the year, which was dazzling in the bright sunlight, and my second Small copper butterfly, a rather tatty looking specimen but still lovely to see. The Large skippers, Common blues and Speckled woods were abundant, and I also saw whites, a Brimstone and several Meadow brown butterflies.

180612 2 6-spot burnet moth
180612 3 6-spot burnet moth

180612 1 small copper

180612 Speckled wood
180612 Common blue
180612 Large skipper

The pond was alive with dragon- and damselfly action, with both a female Emperor and a female Broad-bodied chaser ovipositing. There were three male Broad-bodied chasers constantly squabbling over territory and a Four-spotted chaser trying to avoid them all. Damselflies included Large reds, Common blues, Azures and Blue-tailed. ’Twas a very lively place today!

180612 Broad-bodied chaser male180612 Broad-bodied chaser emale

180612 Blue-tailed damselfly
180612 Emperor female
180612 Large red damselfly

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Here be dragons

10 Sunday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, nature photography, parks

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Black-tailed skimmer, British dragonflies, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, dragonflies, Emperor dragonfly, Four-spotted Chaser, Odonata

This is Wales. We have dragons!
More specifically, this was Cosmeston Lakes Country Park on day 10 of #30DaysWild, where I managed to find three different species of dragonfly.

180610 Black-tailed skimmer immature male

An immature male Black-tailed skimmer

180610 Broad-bodied chaser male

A mature male Black-tailed skimmer

180610 Emperor female (1)

Above and below, a female Emperor, ovipositing (i.e. egg-laying)

180610 Emperor female (2)

180610 Four-spotted chaser (1)

As above, so below: Four-spotted chasers

180610 Four-spotted chaser (2)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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