A Pond in Every Prison
The Ministry of Justice Ecology Team are running a scheme to get a pond in every prison to help you enhance the sites for wildlife. A wildlife pond is one of the single best features for attracting new wildlife to a prison. By creating ponds and wetland areas – no matter how small – you’re…
Dragonfly gynandromorphs
Gynandromorphism is a rare condition that causes an organism to develop both male and female characteristics. This is most conspicuous when the gynandromorphism is bilateral- the organism has male characteristics on one side of its body and female characteristics on the other. However, this is not always the case and the characteristics can be more…
Pond Ponderings: Update From Dan Brawn’s Impressive Emperor Pond in Felixstowe, Suffolk.
My previous blog described the emergence in spring 2019 of twelve Emperors after one year as larvae. On the 31st May this year 2020, I noticed seven Emperor exuvia which came as a surprise as I had not spotted or fished out any Emperor larvae during pondweed maintenance since last spring. That same evening in the fading…
Order your guide to London’s dragonflies and damselflies
London Wildlife Trust is pleased to announce that the first guide to the capital’s dragonflies, titled Today I saw a demoiselle; Dragonflies and damselflies of London is now available! This guide is a result of four years of surveys and data collection, a huge joint effort of the project team and enthusiastic volunteers. Follow the link to read the…
Pond Ponderings – East London Wildlife Pond
We are delighted to introduce a new Pond Ponderings writer, Lucy Colclough (also known as quest.for.nectar). Lucy is based in East London and is a writer who loves sharing her passion for nature. Lucy is also helping us to bring ponds to the nation online this weekend, 20th and 21st June, through our #PondWatch campaign…
Book Must Have: Europe’s Dragonflies
New book available in our shop now: Europe’s Dragonflies is a comprehensive, lavishly illustrated and beautifully designed photographic field guide to the damselflies and dragonflies of Europe. Written by two well-travelled experts, the book covers all 140 resident and vagrant species recorded, focussing on the field identification of adult insects. Concise species profiles highlight key…
Dragonfly Reports to the End of May 2020
Written by Brian Walker, BDS Chairperson. Reports of Dragonflies have continued to flood into our recent sightings page, helped no doubt by the sunniest May on record. By the end of week 22 (1st June) Broad-bodied Chaser had just overtaken Large Red Damselfly as the most frequently reported species. Many reports are of the…
Guide to Summer Garden Dragonflies
The dragonfly season is well under way so make sure you keep an eye out for insects visiting your garden. Here is a short guide to the species you can expect to see in June and July. Report a sighting Learn about gardening for dragonflies
Pond Ponderings – An Update From Parc y Llyn Community Pond
An update on the community pond at Parc y Llyn, Aberystwyth, Wales, from Meg and David Kirby: April 2020 With due care and attention to Corona virus restrictions brief visits have been undertaken to the Parc y Llyn pond as part of the daily exercise allowance. The recent hot and sunny weather has helped the…
Pond Ponderings: From a Life Long Pond Fan in Berkshire
Des Sussex is our newest Pond Ponderings writer, he is also our volunteer County Dragonfly Recorder for Berkshire. Enjoy this first installment from Des about his wildlife pond in Sandhurst. “I have always loved – and been fascinated – by ponds and pondlife. This started when I was ‘little’ thanks to my Dad. He…