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Description Flight periods Status and distribution European and world distribution Lestes sponsa (Hansemann) Emerald damselfly This is one of the two metallic green damselily species with clear wings found in Britain and Ireland. T.ike the very much rarer L. dryas, it usually perches with its wings half open — a position intermediate between most damselflies and true dragonflies. In males, a pale blue pruinescence develops with age and, in mature individuals, it extends over the dorsal surface of abdominal segments 1 and 2, and the posterior abdominal segments, and also the sides of the thorax from below. The eyes are blue. Females are a duller green with areas of pink or beige on the sides of the thorax and abdomen. It is advisable to examine the anal appendages of males (and check whether the inferior appendages are almost straight or club-shaped, when viewed dorsally) and the ovipositor valves of females (and check whether or not they project beyond the apex of abdominal segment 10) in order to separate this species from L. dryas. Habitat L. sponsa breeds in a very wide range of habitats from eutrophic ditches in the lowlands to bog pools in mountain areas. It breeds also in canals, ponds, lakes and other static water bodies, and, occasionally, may be found amongst dense vegetation by slow-flowing streams. It prefers shallow water with an abundance of tall emergent and marginal vegetation such as rushes, sedges or horsetails, though it has been recorded breeding in ponds devoid of both submerged and emergent plants, if suitable marginal vegetation is present. In coastal areas, L. sponsa can tolerate quite brackish conditions. Breeding biology L. sponsa males are territorial, their density rarely exceeding 110 per 100 m of water's edge. Copulation takes place near or by water, and is of long duration (28-69 minutes). The eggs are inserted into water plants by the female, often in tandem, usually selecting the stem of an emergent macrophyte above water level and working her way down until completely submerged, sometimes remaining so for up to 30 minutes. Oviposition sometimes occurs in rank marginal vegetation away from the water's edge. The eggs pass the winter in diapause, a physiological device which delays hatching until the following spring, when water temperatures are more favourable. The larvae, which live amongst submerged water weeds, can complete their development remarkably quickly, in as little as two months (although last instar larvae occasionally overwinter). The species can thus survive the drying out of the habitat in late summer drought. The adults spend an unusually long time reaching maturity (16-30 days). L. sponsa is on the wing from late June to the end of September. Unlike some other damselfly species, it sometimes roosts at the water's edge. In many northern and western bogs it occurs with Sympetrum danae. Elsewhere, it can be found with nearly all the other British and Irish species that breed in static water. L. sponsa occurs widely throughout Britain and Ireland, including many of the Scottish islands. Although it is quite common in many areas, in some counties it is a very local damselfly, less common than several other species of damselily, reflecting the lack of suitable water bodies in which to breed. L. sponsa is a Palaearctic species. Its range extends from the Pyrenees to southern Norway and eastwards to Japan. It is absent or very local in several Mediterranean countries. 32
Lestes sponsa (Hansemarm) Emerald damselfly 1975-90 o 1950-74 O Pre-1950 6 tZ" I: 0 o M: oo IV 00 o a 00 0 000 000 a 49 00 0000 000 000 00000 00 000 000 o 000 00 000 00000oo0411 414 5550 o i 00000 r 000 411 00 1.)-1 000 00 co oo 00 00 0 00 0411 00 00 o 0 000 00 000 00000 00 0000 00000 o 411 0000000 00 00 00 0000000 000 00 000 00 000 00000 00 000 00 00 0 00 00 00 000 00 00 0000 00000 0000000 00 000 000 0 0000 o 0 00 0 000000 00 0 0 0000 55555 0 00 00 000 00 00 00 00 00 000 00 000 00 0 00 00 000 0000 00 00 00 0000 0 S. 00 0000 0000000 000000 33 100 00 0 00000 0 00 000 0000 00 000 00 0 00 000 00 o 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 000 0 00000
Page 2 and 3: Cover photograph: Aeshna juncea Ins
Page 4 and 5: @ NERC Copyright 1996 ISBN 0 11 701
Page 7 and 8: FOREWORD Having been on the fringe
Page 9 and 10: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The following list
Page 11 and 12: Howard, G.; Howard, LW; Howe, M.; H
Page 13: Walker, D.S.; Walker, FA; WaLker, I
Page 16 and 17: CHECKLIST The following checklist i
Page 18 and 19: Aeshna mixta Latreille 1805 Aeschna
Page 20 and 21: THE BRITISH AND IRISH ODONATA IN A
Page 22 and 23: of distributions of dragonflies usi
Page 24 and 25: I 00 o o Figure 3. Map of coverage
Page 26 and 27: ,o " Figure 5. Map of coverage at t
Page 28 and 29: FIELDWORK AND DATA MANAGEMENT METHO
Page 30 and 31: areas, and encouraged in this by bo
Page 32 and 33: Table 3. Distribution of each speci
Page 34 and 35: Table 4 (con°. Vice-county distrib
Page 36 and 37: Table 4 (cont). Vice-county distrib
Page 38 and 39: Computerisation and validation Havi
Page 40 and 41: dominance of one individual over an
Page 42 and 43: RESIDENT SPECIES Description Habita
Page 44 and 45: Calopteryx splendens (Harris) Bande
Page 48: Description Lestes dryas Kirby Scar
Page 51 and 52: Platycnemis pennipes (Pallas) White
Page 53 and 54: 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 and 106:
Cordulegaster boltonii (Donovan) Go
Page 107 and 108:
Cordulia aenea (Lin.naens) Downy em
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
Page 157 and 158:
Gabb, R. & Kitching, D. 1992. The d
Page 159 and 160:
Coenagrion rnercuriale (Charpentier
Page 161 and 162:
Dee'. Transactions of the Natural H
Page 163 and 164:
Circumboreal Occurring in a band en
Page 165 and 166:
Marl A whitish clay soil with a hig
Page 167 and 168:
Vulvar scale WATCH Weald Wheel posi
Page 169 and 170:
Appendix 2. LIST OF PLANT NAMES Pla
Page 171:
Libefiula depressa 5,6,14,17,18,19,
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