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accessary genitalia of males and the prominent
vulvar scale of females are diagnostic. S. vulgatum
breeds in ditches, ponds, lakes and slow-flowing
rivers, and is on the wing from early July to
October. It has been recorded in Britain on fewer
than ten occasions, mostly from the London area,
but also once from Torquay, Devon, and once from
Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire. None of the records
is from recent years. It has been recorded several
times from Jersey (Le Quesne 1946), but not from
Ireland. On the continent, S. vulgatum occurs from
eastern France to southern Scandinavia, and east to
China. It appears to have increased in The
Netherlands in recent years (Geijskes & van Tol
1983), and so may reach Britain more frequently in
the future.
Sympetrum fonscolombii (Sélys-Longchamps)
In mature male S. fonscolombil, the abdomen is
brighter red than S. stholatum and more
parallel-sided. The veins in the proximal halves of
the wings are red, thus distinguishing S.
fonscolombii from all other Sympetrum species. In
females these veins are yellowish and the abdomen
is yellow-brown. In both sexes the pterostigmata are
pale with a conspicuous black border along two
sides, and there is a saffron patch at the base of the
wings which may be quite extensive, though never
as much as in S. flaveolum. It breeds in shallow static
water bodies, and is on the wing from mid-June to
October, earlier in southern Europe, where it may
produce two generations in one year. S.
fonscolombii is migratory and occurs sporadically in
Britain, usually in mid- to late summer, although a
male was recorded on 9 May 1987 at Broornhill
Burrows, Pembrokeshire. The majority of records
are from southern England, but it has occurred as
far north as the Isle of May on the east Scotland
coast, on 17 August 1911. There are two records
from Co Cavan, Ireland, on 20 July 1941 and 27 July
1942. It has almost certainly bred occasionally in
southern England (Longfield 1949c), but has been
unable to sustain a population. It has bred on Jersey,
where Le Quesne (1946) noted oviposition taking
place in a canal on 11 May 1945. He continued to
see adults there until July, then in August he found an
immature female, the first specimen in this condition
that he had seen that year. On 30 August, many
exuviae and teneral adults were located at the site.
He suggested that the evidence could indicate that
the species may overwinter in the adult state. It is
more probable that S. fonscolombii had undergone
two generations in one year, which this species is
known to,accomplish in more southern latitudes,
and that Le Quesne had missed a synchronous
spring emergence toward the end of April. On the
continent, S. fonscolombii is widespread in the
Mediterranean region, and is found east to India,
Mongolia and the Pacific. It occurs throughout
Africa.
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Sympetrum flaveolum (Linnaeus)
In S. flaveolum the parallel-sided abdomen is red in
mature males, yellowish brown in females. The
species is distinctive for having a broad saffronyellow
patch on the basal area of each wing. This is
much more extensive than on any other Sympetrum
except, occasionally, S. fonscolombii from which it
can be distinguished by its black wing venation and
dark pterostigma. It breeds in marshy ponds,
ditches, and lakes, and the backwaters of slowflowing
rivers. It is on the wing from late June to
October. S. flaveolum is migratory and occurs
sporadically in Britain, mainly in the south although
it occurred as far north as Keiss, Caithness, on 18
July 1945. It appears to be recorded less frequently
now than it was before 1950. There is strong
circumstantial evidence to suggest that S. flaveolum
has bred in southern England on a few occasions
(Longfield 1949c), but has been unable to sustain a
population. It has been recorded from Jersey, and
Belle (1980) suggests that it bred formerly on
Guernsey and Alderney. There are no records from
Ireland. It is found throughout Europe except the
extreme south and north, and occurs east to Siberia
and Japan. It is absent from Africa.
Pantala flavescens (Fabricius)
This brown libellulid is larger than any of the
resident libellulids in Britain or Ireland, having an
average overall length of 49-52 mrn. The abdomen
of both sexes is yellow-brown with a black
longitudinal line, of uneven width, along the middorsal
surface which thickens posteriorly into black
triangular marks on seyments 8-10. The thorax is
brown dorsally with yellow-brown sides. The wings
of males may develop a small pale brown patch
apically. There are two records from Britain. One is
of a specimen captured in 1823 at Horning, Norfolk,
by J Sparshall. This record is discussed by Fraser
(1956) who had experience of it in India, and who,
despite the doubts expressed by some leading
entomologists of the 19th century as to how P
flavescens could have reached Britain, preferred to
keep an open mind. The second record is of an
individual taken at Bolton, Lancashire, in July 1951
by A Hazelwood, and which is now in the National
Museums on Merseyside, Liverpool. It is believed
to have arrived in Britain as a ship-borne immigrant
with a consignment of bananas. Longfield (in
Corbet et al, 1960) cites a case of a male P
flavescens sent to her by 0 G Watkins of Plymouth
which was found flying around the wardroom of a
British warship a few days before reaching
Devonport Harbour from Singapore in 1955. It is a
pantropical species, capable of migrating vast
distances. It is found in Asia, Australasia, the
Americas, Africa and many of the islands in the
Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It only occurs
sporadically in Europe.