BDS membership reaches 1800- thank you for your support!
If you are a British Dragonfly Society member you are now part of a community of 1800 certified dragonfly fans! With so many supporters we have to power to make real change in the UK, for the benefit of dragonflies and their wetland ecosystems. Your membership supports core BDS activities, such as running the national … Continued
BDS supports ban on upland peat burning- sign the petition now!
Along with 24 other NGOs, including the Wildlife Trust and Butterfly Conservation, the BDS has signed the RSPB’s letter to Alok Sharma asking for an immediate ban on the annual burning of upland peatlands. As well as being rich in biodiversity peatlands are one of our greatest tools in fighting climate changes as they store … Continued
New Dragonfly Database
In many way Dragonflies are amazingly diverse insects, from their habitat to their hunting behaviour. But why do these differences exist? To help researches explore variations in dragonfly traits and develop hypotheses a new dragonfly database has been created which categorises dragonfly species based on traits such as breed habitat features. This will also be … Continued
Paxton Pits Nature Reserve Designated as Dragonfly Hotspot
Paxton Pits Nature Reserve near St Neots has become the latest Dragonfly Hotspot The British Dragonfly Society has designated the local St Neots nature reserve a Hotspot and will be launched ‘virtually’ on Saturday July 18th 2020. Paxton Pits Nature Reserve is a rich mosaic of wildlife … Continued
Reversing the decline in insects – new report from the Wildlife Trusts
Pesticides need to go!- is the main message from the Wildlife Trusts new report on insect decline. The report calls for the government to adopt ambitious new targets to reduce the widespread use of pesticides and encourage insect-friendly farming practices. However, the responsibility for restoring the UK’s insect populations also lies with local councils, parishes, … Continued
Take part in the Food and Farming Day 2020 online!
BDS staff and volunteers were looking forward to the annual Food and Farming event set to take place this weekend at the East of England Showground, Peterborough. Unfortunately, like many events this year, the day was cancelled due to current lockdown restrictions. However, thanks to the efforts of the Kids Country team, you can now … Continued
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 … Continued
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 … Continued
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 … Continued
We wave goodbye to Tom Cunningham from Morton Lochs when he retires at the end of June.
Morton Lochs, near Tayport in Fife, is one of our Dragonfly Hotspots and has thousands of visitors every year. It’s a superb place to see ten commoner dragonfly and damselfly species, plus Emperor Dragonflies and Red-veined Darters have been recorded here, which are amongst the most northerly sightings on record. It’s also a fantastic spot … Continued