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Cordulia aenea (Linnaeus) Downy emerald Description C. aenea is one of three surviving corduliids found in Britain, and one of two from Ireland. They are dark medium-size dragonflies with a metallic sheen to their bodies. In C. aenea, the thorax is metallic bronze-green with a dense covering of buff-coloured downy hairs. The abdomen is dark greenish black with bronze reflections, and is slightly club-shaped in males. There are pale yellow markings on abdominal segments 2 and 3 laterally and ventrally. The eyes are green, and there is a small amber area at the base of the wings. C. aenea resembles both Somatochlora arctica and S. metallica, but there are distinctive differences in the yellow facial markings and in the shape of the anal appendages. Habitat C. aenea breeds on well-vegetated mesotrophic, neutral to mildly acidic ponds, lakes and canals often where there are shallow, sheltered bays with trees and bushes overhanging the water margin. In Hampshire and Surrey it has also been recorded from slow-flowing streams and small rivers. In the Scottish Highlands and in Ireland, the breeding sites are relatively open along the water margin, although woodland is often in close proximity (Caledonian pinewoods or Killarney oakwoods, respectively). These sites are small peaty lakes in low heather moorland containing white water-lily, bogbean and additionally, in the Highlands, marginal Sphagnum and sedges (slender sedge, bottle sedge and bog-sedge) and, in Ireland, marginal great fen sedge. Breeding biology C. aenea patrol the edges of water bodies with a characteristic rapid flight interspersed with short periods of hovering. They hold the end of their abdomen slightly higher than the thorax in flight, giving a distinctive appearance. They are aggressive, and the length of a beat depends on the number of males present. The theoretical optimal length of the patrol beat has been calculated by Ubukata (1986) and corresponds with field data for C. aenea amurensis (8-10 m when other males are present, 20-60 m when they are not) (Ubukata 1975). After copulation, usually in nearby trees and bushes, the female oviposits, unaccompanied by the male, by repeatedly dipping the tip of her abdomen into the water while in flight, often in the shadier parts. About ten eggs are released with each dip. These are gelatinous and stick to submerged vegetation. They soon hatch, and the larvae, which live amongst bottom debris, probably take two to three years to develop. Flight periods C. aenea is on the wing from late May to late July. In the Highlands, it may be seen Status and distribution European and world distribution with S. metallica, Aeshna juncea, and Illbellula quadrimaculata, whilst further south, in Argyllshire, it occurs with Brachytron pratense and Aeshna cyanea. In southern England, its breeding sites may contain all these species plus Erythromma najas, Anax imperator, Libellula depressa, and others. The earliest record appears to be from Hampstead, Surrey, where Donovan took it in 1805 (Longfield 1949b). Today it is widespread in suitable habitat in the Weald and on the heaths on the Surrey/Hampshire border. It is not uncommon in the New Forest area and the Dorset heaths, but elsewhere it has a very scattered distribution — from Newton Abbot in Devon to Glen Affric in the Highlands. The presence of C. aenea at isolated sites probably represents relict populations from an earlier period. In Ireland, C. aenea was first recorded by a Mr Hely, in a letter to Holiday in 1838, at Killarney, Co Kerry (King & Halbert 1910), but it appears that this record was disbelieved. It was found again in the Killarney area by E Bullock in 1923 (Graves 1947), and still breeds at a few sites there today These are within the Killarney National Park and so receive some protection. Elsewhere in Ireland, several individuals were found in the forest at Glengarriff, Co Cork, on 14 July 1978 (Goyvaerts 1979), but a breeding population has yet to be located. On 23 May 1992, several C. aenea were discovered at a site near Ballinaboy, West Galway, by M Ticlaier (B Nelson, pers. comm.). On the continent, C. aenea occurs from France through central and northern Europe to Siberia and Japan. It is absent from the Iberian peninsula, most of the Mediterranean area, and much of northern Scandinavia. 84
Cordulia aenea (Lin.naens) Downy emerald 1975-90 o 1950-74 O Pre-1950 , r , 0 , ..7 -. 3 85 o 0 o 0 0 p o o 00 o 0 o 0 o 0 0 o 0 o 000 0 0 0 o o o o
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Cover photograph: Aeshna juncea Ins
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@ NERC Copyright 1996 ISBN 0 11 701
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FOREWORD Having been on the fringe
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The following list
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Howard, G.; Howard, LW; Howe, M.; H
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Walker, D.S.; Walker, FA; WaLker, I
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CHECKLIST The following checklist i
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Aeshna mixta Latreille 1805 Aeschna
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THE BRITISH AND IRISH ODONATA IN A
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of distributions of dragonflies usi
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I 00 o o Figure 3. Map of coverage
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,o " Figure 5. Map of coverage at t
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FIELDWORK AND DATA MANAGEMENT METHO
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areas, and encouraged in this by bo
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Table 3. Distribution of each speci
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Table 4 (con°. Vice-county distrib
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Table 4 (cont). Vice-county distrib
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Computerisation and validation Havi
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dominance of one individual over an
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RESIDENT SPECIES Description Habita
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Calopteryx splendens (Harris) Bande
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Description Flight periods Status a
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Description Lestes dryas Kirby Scar
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Platycnemis pennipes (Pallas) White
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Pyrrhosoma nymphula (Sulzer) 1975-9
Page 55 and 56: Erythromma najas (Hansemann) 1975-9
Page 57 and 58: Coenagrion mercuriale (Charpentier)
Page 59 and 60: Coenagrion scituluni (Rambur) Daint
Page 61 and 62: Coenagrion hastulatuni (Charpentier
Page 63 and 64: Coenagrion lunulatum (Charpentier)
Page 65 and 66: Coenagrion armatum (Charpentier) No
Page 67 and 68: Coenagrion puella (Linnaeus) Azuxe
Page 69 and 70: Coenagrion pulchellum (Vander Linde
Page 71 and 72: Enallagma cyathigerurn (Charpentier
Page 73 and 74: Ischnura pumilio (Charpentier) Scar
Page 75 and 76: Ischnura elegans (Vander Linden) 19
Page 77 and 78: Ceriagrion tenellurn (Villers) 1975
Page 79 and 80: Aeshna caerulea (Strom) Azure hawke
Page 81 and 82: Aeshna juncea (Linnaeus) Common haw
Page 83 and 84: Montiaghs Moss, near Aghalee, Co An
Page 85 and 86: Sundon Springs chalk quarry, near L
Page 87 and 88: PLATE 1 Calopteryxvirgo adult PLATE
Page 89 and 90: PLATE 13 Libellula fulva adult PLAT
Page 91 and 92: Aeshna mixta Latreile Migrant hawke
Page 93 and 94: Aeshna cyanea (Muller) Southern haw
Page 95 and 96: Aeshna grandis (Linnaeus) Brown haw
Page 97 and 98: Aeshna isosceles (Muller) Norfolk h
Page 99 and 100: Anax imperator Leach Emperor dragon
Page 101 and 102: Brachytron pratense (Muller) Hairy
Page 103 and 104: Gomphus vulgatissimus (Linnaeus) 19
Page 105: Cordulegaster boltonii (Donovan) Go
Page 109 and 110: Somatochlora metallica (Vander Lind
Page 111 and 112: Somatochlora arctica (Zetterstedt)
Page 113 and 114: Oxygastra curtisii (Dale) Orange-sp
Page 115 and 116: Libellula quadrimaculata Linnaeus 1
Page 117 and 118: Libellula fulva Mailer Scarce chase
Page 119 and 120: Libellula depressa Linnaeus 1975-90
Page 121 and 122: Orthetrum cancellatum (Linnaeus) 19
Page 123 and 124: Orthetrum coerulescens (Fabricius)
Page 125 and 126: Sympetrum striolaturn (Charpentier)
Page 127 and 128: Sympetrum sanguineum (Muller) Ruddy
Page 129 and 130: Sympetruni danae (Sulzer) 1975-90 o
Page 131 and 132: Leuconhinia dubia (Vander Linden) W
Page 133 and 134: IMIVLIGRANTS AND ACCIDENTAL SPECIES
Page 135 and 136: POSSIBLE ADDITIONS TO THE BRITISH A
Page 137 and 138: SEASONAL OCCURRENCE PREVIOUS REPRES
Page 139 and 140: 700 600 500 400 300. 200 100 0 90 8
Page 141 and 142: 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 90 80 70 60 50
Page 143 and 144: Finally, differences in recorder be
Page 145 and 146: ODONATA LOCALITY 6411 V10E-COUNTY N
Page 147 and 148: Particularly in the case of residen
Page 149 and 150: conditions and which may be of grea
Page 151 and 152: 1960s from its single locality alon
Page 153 and 154: pond. One of the authors did this o
Page 155 and 156: REFERENCES Aguilar, J. d', Dommange
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Gabb, R. & Kitching, D. 1992. The d
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Coenagrion rnercuriale (Charpentier
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Dee'. Transactions of the Natural H
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Circumboreal Occurring in a band en
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Marl A whitish clay soil with a hig
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Vulvar scale WATCH Weald Wheel posi
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Appendix 2. LIST OF PLANT NAMES Pla
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Libefiula depressa 5,6,14,17,18,19,
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