‘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
Pond Ponderings: Only one year old and full of dragonflies!
An update from Pamela Styles on her fairly new pond in Wales: Now that we’ve reached the end of a summer that was very different than expected, I’m even more grateful for the wildlife pond in my garden than I was last year! I have spent immeasurable hours sitting beside it over the past … 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
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
County Dragonfly Recorder Bill Budd passes away
The British Dragonfly Society team was deeply saddened to learn of the recent passing of Bill Budd. Bill was a quietly passionate naturalist who supported the BDS as the County Dragonfly Recorder for Surrey and volunteered at the Natural History Museum (NHM). Earlier this year, an article in the journal Zootaxa announced that a newly … Continued
Autumn Meeting Speaker Focus
Autumn Meeting Speakers Focus Dave Smallshire – Europe’s Dragonflies. Dave is an eminent author, tour leader, County Dragonfly Recorder for Devon and long term member of our Dragonfly Conservation Group. He will share his wealth of experience with us, focused around the process of creating his latest book ‘Europe’s Dragonflies’. … Continued