No.2 May 2005

Dear

As Edition 2 wings its way out through the ether can we be confident of a good season? Long range weather forecasts suggest a hot June, something to do with Pine Cones and the Oak before Ash rhyme I suspect.

Records being broken

Could this be the start of an extraordinary summer? Already the earliest sightings in the DD database are being broken. Blue-tailed Damselfly - 3 days earlier, Azure - 1 day earlier and Four-spotted Chaser an amazing 12 days earlier than previous records. Could this be due to climatic change? Well, I can say there are no experts on this subject at DD but a quick look on t'internet (as known in Derbyshire) reveals a few learned discussions on the topic on Phenology* and dragonflies. Phenology has become less fashionable in recent years until its rebirth with the help of The Woodland Trust and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Together they have contributed to form Nature's Calendar , the UK Phenology Network. This is a wonderful web site with animated graphics illustrating the first sightings of migrants and the emergence of many insect species.

*The scientific study of periodic biological phenomena, such as flowering, breeding and migration in relation to climatic conditions

Use the Discussion Forum - please!

DD has a discussion forum here We have provided fora (forums is creeping in to the English language and my Latin Master will be turning in his grave!) for Dragonflies, Butterflies and Birds.

Events

5th June 2005 - Butterflies and Dragonflies Walk, Shipley Lock, 9am - 12 noon. Email Dave Goddard for further details or ring 0115 9198860.

We would be happy to promote a natural history related event on the DD web site. E-mail details to enquiries@derbyshire-dragonflies.org.uk

Courses

Perhaps early to mention these but they are popular. All at Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire.

Sun 26th June - Dragonflly Larvae Identification for Beginners
Sun 9th July - Introducing the Dragonfly
Sun 10th July - Adult Dragonfly and Water Plant Identification for Beginners
Sat 25th July - The Underwater Workd of the Dragonfly
Sun 31st July - Introducing the Dragonfly

For more details phone 01733 204286 e-mail courses@dragonflyproject.org.uk or visit The Dragonfly Project web site.

Have you seen a Blue-tailed Damselfly?

The Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ishnura elegans) is one of the most widely distributed damselflies in Derbyshire. The male (see photo) is easily identified by the black abdomen with a blue tip. There are however, a variety of colour forms predominately in females so don't panic and dial the DD hotline! The varietal forms are genetically and aged related with colours ranging from black, orange, green and violet.

These are a very tolerant specie colonising a wide range of habitats. It appears to be an opportune specie taking

advantage, in some cases, of temporary water sources. In warmer areas of the country, the life cycle is complete in one year but (very generally) the farther north it is found the more likely it is likely the larvae will take two years to mature to emergence.

The larvae feed on a variety of sources including small crustaceans, mayfly and midge larvae. They begin emerging around this time of the year and the larvae climb only a short distance out of the water on bank side vegetation before moving to the underside of the leaf to finally emerge as adults.