New County Dragonfly Recorders for Gloucestershire, County Durham, Surrey & Middlesex
We’re delighted to welcome recent recruits to the Recording Scheme as verifiers for the following Vice Counties: VC 33 – East Gloucestershire and VC 34 – West Gloucestershire – Richard Mundy Richard was recruited by Ingrid Twissell, our long-standing Gloucestershire resident and recorder who has retired from the role but helped us greatly by … Continued
David Hepper
Support the BDS while you shop on Amazon
Stock up on good karma while you shop with Amazon Smile. Select the British Dragonfly Society as your chosen charity and Amazon will donate a small percentage of your purchase to us! Competing for funding during the Covid pandemic has been tougher than ever so we’re grateful for every penny donated to help us continue … Continued
Volunteers needed for White-faced Darter surveys at Black Lake, Cheshire
The rare and endangered White-faced Darter was reintroduced to a specially managed pool in Delemere Forest back in 2013. In 2020 adults were spotted nearby at Black Lake for the first time, a sign the population might be spreading. The Wildlife Trust is looking for volunteers with dragonfly recording experience to help carry out simple … Continued
Download the Dragonflies in Devon by Dave Smallshire
Dave Smallshire, veteran County Dragonfly Recorder for Devon, has released a guide to the county’s Dragonflies, which you can download here, or from the Devon BDS page. The guide provides and in depth account of the county’s species as well as the history of dragonfly recording in Devon. Image by Richard Munckton
PhD opportunity studying Irish Damselfly at Belfast University
QUADRAT studentship UK and all international students are eligible Deadline: 18/01/2021 Main objectives of the project: 1) To determine the phylogenetic relationship of the Irish Damselfly to the other populations across Europe; 2) To investigate the species population genetics (connectivity, effective population size, levels of inbreeding, etc.) within Ireland; 3) To develop integrative models … Continued
‘Ecological vandalism’ on the River Lugg
A mile of the River Lugg, near Kingsland, has been illegal bulldozed and straightened while the surrounding trees have been cut down. The River Lugg is designated a SSSI, site of special scientific interest, due to its high ecological value. The river support numerous species of dragonfly, as well as protected species such as Otter. … Continued
Pesticide Pollution from Pet Flea Treatment Aquatic Invertebrates
A recent study from the University of Sussex found fipronil, a chemical mostly widely used in pet flea treatment, in 99% of a near 400000 water samples taken from 20 UK rivers. Imidacloprid, another pesticide found in pet flea treatment, was found in 66% of samples. Fipronil and imidacloprid are potent nerve agents that are … Continued
Our Bright Future projects
Through outreach and training the Our Bright Future Project is enabling young people to drive for a sustainable future. Project achievements so far: To date, the programme has engaged more than 115,000 young people. Young people have gained more than 6,200 qualifications such as e.g. OCN, NVQs, John Muir, DofE Award, AQA. More than 500 young people have entered into … Continued
Late Willow Emeralds
By Adrian Parr: The Willow Emerald Damselfly (pictured above) – a recent colonist to Britain – is a late season species, and is typically the last damselfly to be seen on the wing each year. This year, the benign autumn has resulted in a number of unusually late sightings, with reports even from Bedfordshire … Continued
Pesticides from salad crops polluting Southern Damselfly chalk streams
The Guardian has reported that a watercress plant run by Bakkavor is due to close at the end of this month after environmentalists from the Salmon & Trout Conservation Trust discovered it was polluting the Upper Itchen with neonicotinoid pesticides. The Itchen is a rare and protected chalk stream that is home to a wealth … Continued
Exuviae Specimens Needed Please!
Our friends at the Environment Agency Ecology Lab are in need of some dragonfly exuviae (cast off larval skins) specimens please. Do you happen to have any spare that you could send on to them? They would be grateful for any species but the ones they particularly need are listed below: – Aeshna mixta … Continued