Information on Monmouthshire’s dragonflies and wetland sites, and local volunteer opportunities.
Where is Monmouthshire?
Monmouthshire is the southeasternmost county in Wales, centred on the city of Newport, and covers approximately the same area as the former county of Gwent. The name Monmouthshire has been used to refer to various different boundaries at different points in time: at present, for example, it is used by the Monmouthshire local authority to cover just the rural areas that they administer. Historically, Monmouthshire was a much wider area, from the eastern edge of Cardiff to Chepstow, north to Monmouth, and west to beyond Abergavenny, and it is this area that these pages cover, as shown on the map. For those of you familiar with the “vice-county” system, devised in Victorian times by H. C. Watson, and still used for nature recording today, Monmouthshire is vice-county 35.
Monmouthshire's Dragonflies
The table below lists the 32 species of dragonfly which have been reliably recorded in Monmouthshire. Some of these are rare visitors to the county: records of these are of particular interest, and can be added to our county database if the record is accompanied by supporting evidence, such as a photograph or some notes describing what was seen and how more common lookalike species were ruled out. Some of our resident species are usually only found in certain areas of the county and so supporting evidence is asked for if these are seen outside their usual areas.
One further species, Banded Darter Sympetrum pedemontanum, was found in 1995 near Tredegar, and listed in several publications as being seen within Monmouthshire. Research for an account of this occurrence led to the realisation that it spent its time wholly within Breconshire, so unfortunately this distinctive insect (the first, and as of 2022, the only, British record) is no longer on the county list.
Small Red Damselfly Ceriagrion tenellum was formerly thought to have occured on moorlands in the northwest of the county, but a review of all Monmouthshire records of this species carried out in 2024 concluded that there is no evidence that the species was ever reliably found in the county, and that these records are more likely to relate to misidentifications of Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula instead.
Single unconfirmed records each of two other species (Downy Emerald Cordulia aenea and Scarce Chaser Libellula fulva) were reviewed in 2020/2021 and no supporting evidence could be traced for either, so these have been excluded from the list. Subsequently (2023) further details of the putative Scarce Chaser (on the Blorenge in 1983) have come to light: photographs of it were examined shortly after it was reported, and it was a misidentified Broad-bodied Chaser.
Priority Species in Monmouthshire
The following list of species of conservation importance for Monmouthshire has been drawn up using the British Dragonfly Society’s criteria.
This list was last revised in 2024.
| Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly | Scarce and localised within Monmouthshire; specialised habitat. Near-threatened on a UK scale. |
| Variable Damselfly | Scarce and localised within Monmouthshire; specialised habitat. Near-threatened on a UK scale. |
| White-legged Damselfly | Uncommon in Monmouthshire; specialised habitat; indicative of high-quality sites with the potential for colonisation by other important breeding species; on western edge of UK range |
| Brown Hawker | Inexplicably localised in one area of Monmouthshire only |
| Common Hawker | Scarce and localised within Monmouthshire; specialised habitat |
| Hairy Dragonfly | Uncommon and localised within Monmouthshire; specialised habitat |
| Common Clubtail | A keystone riverine species indicative of high water quality; the River Wye is one of the main UK strongholds for the species. Near-threatened on a UK scale. |
| Keeled Skimmer | Scarce and localised within Monmouthshire; specialised habitat |
| Black Darter | Scarce and localised within Monmouthshire; specialised habitat |
Rarity Accounts
See below for finders’ accounts of the first records of dragonfly species to have been found in Monmouthshire, and other rarities.
A Yellow-winged Darter at Goldcliff in 1995, the first county record, John Martin
Red-veined Darters at Goldcliff in 2000, the first county record, Adam Rowlands
Red-veined Darters at Goldcliff in 2002, Kevin Dupé
A Lesser Emperor at Lamby Lake in 2006, the first county record, Andy Karran
A Vagrant Emperor in Newport in 2013, the first county record, Keith Cox
Small Red-eyed Damselflies at Uskmouth in 2017, the second county record, Tara Okon
A Southern Migrant Hawker at Llandegfedd Reservoir in 2019, the first county record, Gavin Vella
A Vagrant Emperor on the Gwent Levels in 2019, the second county record, Kevin Dupé
A Vagrant Emperor at Aberbeeg in 2020, the third county record, Simon Bazeley
A Common Clubtail in Govilon in 2023, the first for the Usk valley, Alan Underwood
An account of one further dragonfly, long thought to have been seen within Monmouthshire, but after further investigation revealed to have been seen only in Breconshire (and so, sadly, not on the Monmouthshire list) can be read here:
A Banded Darter near Trefil in south Wales in 1995, the first British record, Ian D. Smith
Monmouthshire Dragonfly Species Maps
The links below will take you to information about each of Monmouthshire’s dragonfly species, including the latest distribution maps produced by the county atlas project.
Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa)
Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens)
Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo)
White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes)
Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum)
Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas)
Small Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma viridulum)
Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura pumilio)
Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula)
Southern Migrant Hawker (Aeshna affinis)
Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea)
Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis)
Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea)
Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta)
Vagrant Emperor (Anax ephippiger)
Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)
Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope)
Hairy Dragonfly (Brachytron pratense)
Common Clubtail (Gomphus vulgatissimus)
Golden-ringed Dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltonii)
Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa)
Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata)
Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)
Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens)
Black Darter (Sympetrum danae)
Yellow-winged Darter (Sympetrum flaveolum)
Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii)
Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)
Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)
Updates And Annual Summary Reports
For annual summaries from 2018 and 2019: click on these links:
Annual Summary, 2018
Annual Summary, 2019
For copies of Monmouthshire dragonfly recording updates, issued from 2020 onwards, click the links below.
Number 1, July 2020
Number 2, May 2021
Number 3, June 2022
Number 4, February 2023
Number 5, April 2023
Number 6, August 2023
Number 7, March 2024
Number 8, June 2024
Number 9, November 2024
Number 10, March 2025
Image: Male Common Clubtail by David Kitching