In Summer 2009 the Highland Council produced a leaflet on the 18 species of damsleflies and dragonflies found in the Highland Council Area.
A New Species for the Highlands.
In July 2011 Martin Hind, one of the Council's Countryside Rangers, found a colony of Azure Damselflies at the Lily Loch in Muir of Ord. This is the most northerly record of this species in the Scotland. In 2010 this species was recorded in Badenoch at Insh Marshes, so it appears that this species is spreading northwards from Pitlochry, the previous most northerly outpost of this species.
Dragonfly Life-cycle.
Dragonflies and damselflies belong to the order of insects called Odonata (meaning toothed jaw). There are over 5,500 species worldwide and around 52 found in Britain, 18 of these breed in the Highlands. Dragonflies were one of the first flying insects and fossil dragonflies have been found that are 350 million years old.
The majority of a dragonfly’s life is spent underwater as a larva. Some species can spend five years or more as a larva. In late spring or early summer, when the larva is fully grown, it crawls out of the water and seeks a suitable spot close to the edge of the water to emerge. Once free of its larval skin, it emerges as a fully formed adult. The adult may only survive for 3-4 weeks, but this is long enough for breeding to take place and the next generation to begin.
Get involved and help dragonflies.
You can contribute to the National Dragonfly Atlas Project which seeks to update the known distribution of British dragonfly and damselfly species. Recording is essential to help map these amazing insects and to help identify important areas for them. Volunteers are needed to record in one or more 10-km squares – there are many squares in the Highlands that have no or few records. You can help fill in these gaps.
Any record of a damselfly or dragonfly is useful and you should record which species you saw, how many, when and where you saw it and if possible a grid reference from an Ordnance Survey map. Records of egg laying and mating are particularly important. Send all records to Jonathan Willet.
Contact Jonathan Willet, Biodiversity Officer, Highland Council, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, IV3 5NX, Email: jonathan.willet@highland.gov.uk , Tel: 01463 702274 for more information about under-recorded areas in Highland.
Links.
For more information about dragonflies and information on local or national events, check out the website of the British Dragonfly Society (external site).
To see the distribution of dragonflies and damselflies in Highland look at the National Biodiversity Network (external site).
Leaflet.
To download the leaflet click on the link on the right hand side of the page.