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Ischnura pumilio (Charpentier) Scarce blue-tailed damselfly Description I. pumilio is one of two British and Irish damselflies in which the abdomen of males is entirely black dorsally apart from a blue mark towards the posterior end; the other species is the larger and much commoner I. elegans. In I. pumilio this pale blue marking occupies the posterior third of abdominal segment 8 and all of segment 9, which normally has a pair of tiny black spots dorsally, although these are sometimes enlarged (Welstead & Welstead 1983a). There is a pair of blue antehumeral stripes on the thorax, the sides of which are usually blue, sometimes blue-green, as are the sides of the first few abdominal segments. Mature females are dull black dorsally with pale green sides to the thorax and abdomen. In some females, the eyes, legs, sides of the thorax and the abdomen are a striking orange colour. This is known as var. aurantiaca Sélys-Longchamps, and is an immature form which matures into the typical adult female. Habitat I. pumilio favours mineral-enriched water in which to breed, usually as slow-flowing seepages, runnels and streams but also as static water in shallow ponds and lakes. It is found in suitable habitat often in heathland areas, but is not confined to these, being found also in chalk pits and in quarries. In Pembrokeshire, Fox (1987) recorded I. pumilio breeding on base-rich flushes and spring-lines on sites favoured also by Coenagrion mercuriale, and on mesotrophic dew ponds and stock pools on mineral soils in marginal hill country Such ponds, which are often disturbed by cattle trampling, are characterised by the presence of emergent soft rush and compact rush, floating sweetgrass and lesser spearwort. In central southern England, I. purnilio occurs on seepages resulting from disturbed spring-lines in chalk pits, gravel pits and a limestone quarry (Cham 1991). Similar habitats are occupied in the china clay areas of west Devon and Cornwall. In west Cornwall, I. pumilio is found on former tin-streaming sites. In the north of Ireland it has recently been discovered from a number of disused quarries in the north (Rippey & Nelson 1988) and from natural spring flushes. Breeding biology I. pumilio is a delicate damselily and has a weak flight, low down amongst emergent vegetation. Populations can be quite dense. The eggs are inserted into the tissues of aquatic and emergent plants by the female, unattached to the male. Cham (1990, 1992) observed egg laying in hard rush, jointed rush, and stoneworts. Flight periods I. pumilio is on the wing from late May to early September. In heathland areas, it may occur with C. mercuriale, Ceriagrion tenellurn and Orthetrum coerulescens, but in the upland sites of west Wales, at altitudes of up to 400 m, it can be the only dragonfly present. In chalk pits and gravel pits, it may be found at pools and seepages frequented also by i elegans, Libellula depressa and Sympetrum striolaturn. Status and distribution The distribution of I. pumilio is strongly influenced by its habitat requirements, but there European and world distribution is probably also a climatic factor involved which prevents its occurrence in northern England and beyond. It is found most commonly in south-west Britain from Anglesey to the New Forest, but, since its discovery at a chalk pit in Bedfordshire in 1987, it has been found at a number of other pits and quarries in that region, several of which have been created very recently, indicating recent colonisation. This species has clearly benefited from the extraction industries, and will probably continue to do so. Doubleday (1871) recorded it as 'rare' from old gravel pits in the Epping district of Essex, but this record, although plausible, has not been mapped (see Vetting of records in Description of data set). Elsewhere in East Anglia, I. pumilio has been recorded from Cambridge (Sélys-Longchamps 1846), from Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire (Imms 1938), and from near Cromer, Norfolk, in 1899 (O'Farrell 1950). In Ireland it has a scattered distribution, and further fieldwork may demonstrate that it occurs more widely and with greater frequency than existing records indicate. Cotton (1981) reviews early Irish records. In Europe, I. pumilio is found most commonly in the south. It occurs from Morocco and southern Spain to southern Scandinavia, where it was recently discovered, and east to southern Russia and Siberia. It has been recorded from the Azores and Madeira, indicating good powers of dispersal. 58
Ischnura pumilio (Charpentier) Scarce blue-tailed damselfly 1975-90 o 1950-74 O Pre-1950 ., ., o o n 0 -: 'a 0_00(7 'V 4 6 - 59 a II I. II I. 0 o o 0 0 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
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 46 and 47: Description Flight periods Status a
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: Enallagma cyathigerurn (Charpentier
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
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Orthetrum coerulescens (Fabricius)
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Sympetrum striolaturn (Charpentier)
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Sympetrum sanguineum (Muller) Ruddy
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Sympetruni danae (Sulzer) 1975-90 o
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Leuconhinia dubia (Vander Linden) W
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IMIVLIGRANTS AND ACCIDENTAL SPECIES
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POSSIBLE ADDITIONS TO THE BRITISH A
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SEASONAL OCCURRENCE PREVIOUS REPRES
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700 600 500 400 300. 200 100 0 90 8
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70 60 50 40 30 20 10 90 80 70 60 50
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Finally, differences in recorder be
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ODONATA LOCALITY 6411 V10E-COUNTY N
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Particularly in the case of residen
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conditions and which may be of grea
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1960s from its single locality alon
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pond. One of the authors did this o
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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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