Monmouthshire dragonfly recording update 12, September 2025
The 2025 recording season for adult dragonflies is not quite over yet, and it’s been one of the most exciting since I took on the county recorder role back in 2018. Top billing has to go to Willow Emerald, not only new to Monmouthshire but new to Wales, but as mentioned briefly in the last newsletter, this wasn’t the only new addition to the county list, with Phil James finding a male Scarce Chaser at Magor Marsh in the spring. Lesser Emperor had its best year to date in the county, and our first Red-veined Darters for two decades were found at Wentwood reservoir. Recording for the Monmouthshire atlas turned up some new and re-discovered sites for some of our scarcer species, as well as filling in some of the gaps on the distribution maps for many of our more common species. Also in this newsletter, there’s a rare opportunity to acquire a complete run of British Dragonfly Society journals.
Willow Emerald arrives in Wales
Willow Emerald (Chalcolestes viridis), a species which has been rapidly spreading west in England over the last decade, finally reached Wales this summer. Since being found near Magor in August, it has now been found in several locations on the eastern part of the Gwent Levels, with a further surprise record near Abergavenny. The next newsletter will cover all of these sightings of this new colonist; for the moment, here’s a stunning photo from Gavin Vella taken at Goldcliff lagoons.
Willow Emerald, photographed by Gavin Vella at Goldcliff Lagoons, Newport, 24 September 2025.
Scarce Chaser at Magor Marsh, the first Monmouthshire record
The population of Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva) in England has been increasing, and it has become widespread on the coastal levels in Somerset and Gloucestershire. Given that there have been records in Glamorgan and Breconshire, it was only a matter of time before we had our first record in Monmouthshire. Phil James had the honour of finding our first, a male at Magor Marsh in May, and there is a short write-up on the British Dragonfly Society’s website here. One of Phil’s excellent photos of this insect is below.
Male Scarce Chaser, photographed by Phil James at Magor Marsh, Monmouthshire, 20 May 2025.
More Lesser Emperors
Back in 2023, Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope) was found displaying breeding behaviour at Wentwood reservoir. This species spends two years in the larval stage so I returned in July this year to find out if any had emerged. I found one male, and two males were seen by both Lee Gregory and Andy Karran later in the month. It’s a large site so the chances of finding an exuvia are slim, but there’s a reasonable likelihood that these individuals are the offspring of the 2023 breeding attempt. Lee also found one at the Newport Wetlands reserve at Uskmouth. This was on the same day that I was running an identification workshop in the visitor centre there, so I unfortunately didn’t see it, but I had better luck with a female that Dan Watson found at Goldcliff in September, as I was waiting for a Wryneck to show itself, and Dan’s dragonfly flew in and landed in vegetation just in front of him and me. Below are photos by Lee of one of the Wentwood Lesser Emperors, and by Dan of his Goldcliff individual.
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Lesser Emperors: a male at Wentwood Reservoir on 13 July 2025 (Lee Gregory) and a female at Goldcliff lagoons on 25 September 2025 (Dan Watson).
Red-veined Darters at Wentwood reservoir
I failed to notice any darters on my visit to Wentwood, but the Lesser Emperor lured my Glamorgan counterpart Mike Powell over the border, and he did … and rather than the expected Common (or less likely Ruddy) Darter, Mike realised that he had found a Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) and spread the news on the South Wales Dragonflies WhatsApp group. This was the first record for the county in two decades. Lee Gregory visited the next day, and outdid both of us by finding five more! Mike and Lee have written accounts of these notable finds here. Lee was able to photograph five of the six, and here’s one of his photos:
Male Red-veined Darter, photographed by Lee Gregory at Wentwood reservoir, Monmouthshire, 13 July 2025.
More Common Hawker sites in the eastern part of Monmouthshire
Following Barbara Heys’s re-find of Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea) at Broad Meend last year (its only known site in the eastern half of Monmouthshire), I had a suspicion that there may be further sites to be found, and searches this summer resulted in finding this species at two more sites: a pond in Chepstow Park Wood, and a pond on Beacon Hill near Trellech. Common Hawker is a specialist of moorland and heathland bog pools and in our part of the world is not common at all, but there could well be other sites in the east that await discovery: ponds in Wentwood forest could possibly support some, for example. In the western uplands it is much more common: it’s well-recorded around the Blaenavon area, but there are also scattered records further south and west from here. I would particularly welcome any records in the southern part of the western uplands, e.g. around Risca and Machen, to help determine the southern limit of its occurrence.
Hairy Dragonfly on the Gwent Levels and elsewhere
One of the specialist dragonflies found on the Gwent Levels is Hairy Dragonfly (Brachytron pratense) and as part of the Monmouthshire atlas project, we’re trying to find out the full extent of its occurrence. Surveys this spring resulted in it being found in several new areas (or areas in which it had not been recorded recently), such as the St Brides to West Usk lighthouse coastal reens, the Bishton/Llandevenny area, and the coastal reens south and east of Redwick. Tom Chinnick saw one in Belle Vue Park, Newport at the end of April, and I found it at Rogiet Countryside Park in May (it was last recorded in that area in 1991). The only record well away from the Levels, however, remains Tom’s individual at Raglan golf course in June 2022.
The British Dragonfly Society journal
Peter Sturgess has kindly donated a complete run of British Dragonfly Society journals from volume 1 to volume 40. They’re currently here in Newport, and looking for a good home. There’s a wealth of information in them, and they take up less than 50cm of shelf-space. If anyone would like them, please contact me.
As mentioned above, a WhatsApp group exists to share news about dragonflies in South Wales (news of the Lesser Emperors, Red-veined Darters and Willow Emeralds was circulated here on the same day that they were found). If you’d like to join, let me know and I’ll send you a sign-up link.
Contributing your records
I’m happy to receive your records via any method which suits you: it’s better to receive a record than not to receive it. The iRecord system is my preferred method. If you’d like to use iRecord, please go to irecord.org.uk and create an account. I’m more than happy to show you how to use it over a video conference, or in person if you live somewhere within easy reach.
[wpml_mailto email=”steve.preddy@me.com”]Steve Preddy[/wpml_mailto], Monmouthshire County Dragonfly Recorder, British Dragonfly Society