Atlas of Damselflies and Dragonflies in Warwickshire (V.C.38)

There are few rare or endangered species in Warwickshire but several species which are at or about the northern limit of their range here. Observers in the county are well placed to watch the fortunes of these species and in recent years some have increased both their numbers and distribution. Some of the perceived increase may be the result of a greater interest in dragonflies but much of it is believed to be real and of great interest.

The Atlas provides a review of the known status of dragonflies and damselflies recorded in Vice County 38 (that is the county of Warwickshire before the formation of the West Midlands) up to the end of 2004. For each species there is a page of the Atlas. On each page there is a distribution map, produced using DMAP, of sightings in the county and a short commentary on the species' status. The maps differentiate between records for the periods up to 1990 and 1990 to 2003 and for the years 2004 & 2005. There is also a histogram showing the number of adult records for each two week period through the year; this gives an indication of expected adult activity, at least for species with good numbers of records. For a sample page, see that for the Southern Hawker Aeshna cyanea.

The data used to assemble the maps are computer based and held in Darter - a special Biological Recording Database developed for the BDS. There is fairly good coverage of the county  and in recent years there has been an increase in the number of sightings recorded.

• Index to dragonfly pages

• Index to damselfly pages

The distribution maps are updated as more records are made available to the author. These can be for past observations (particularly for the period after 1990) or new ones as they become available during 2005. When supplying records to the author at peteratreeve60dotuklinuxdotnet please try to ensure they comply with the form requested in the recording information document. Records of rarer species and any observation that might confirm species breeding are particularly welcome. New species can be encountered in the county. For example, the first record for the Club-tailed Dragonfly Gomphus vulgatissimus was in 1997, for the Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura pumilio in 2002 and for the Small Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma viridulum last year, 2004. Species to watch for are the Downy Emerald Cordulia aenea and Scarce Chaser Libellula fulva. The latter was found for the first time on the Avon in Worcestershire in 2004.

Vice County 38 is outlined in red and the intrusion of the West Midland County into the Vice County in the North-West is shown in blue. The current county of Warwickshire is that part of V.C. 38 excluding the West Midland intrusion. All the National Grid 10 kilometre squares that cover V.C. 38 are marked. Most are in 100 kilometre square SP (42) with just the three Northern squares in SK (43). Note that some of the squares round the periphery contain only very small areas of V.C. 38.

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This map shows the total number of records in the Darter data base for each 10 Kilometre square in V.C. 38.

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Most data for the period prior to 1990 are those supplied to the Biological Records Centre, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology for the production of the Atlas of the dragonflies of Britain and Ireland by R. Merritt, N. W. Moore and B. C. Eversham 1996. They give good representative coverage of the county up until about 1990. The records from 1990 until 2003 are those known to the author; either those supplied to the Biological Records Centre, Warwickshire Museum or directly to the author.

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Many individuals and organisations have contributed records over the years. Contributors page lists the names of those known.

Last updated Tue Mar 22 14:18:08 2005

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