The Sefton Coast
IT IS entirely appropriate at a time when barbers and hairdressers are but a distant memory, and a return of the “mullet” is a real threat to all, that the latest addition to the area’s insect list is positively hirsute.
In a way it has been a long time coming but photographic evidence confirms that hairy dragonfly has now arrived in the local area – the latest in a long line of insect arrivals as species push north in our warming climate.
The first record of this earliest of dragonfly flyers has been much anticipated but the discovery of them at Lunt Meadows is very welcome nonetheless.
This dragonfly gets its name from the downy hairs on its thorax, a feature you may just be able to discern on Phil Boardman’s excellent photograph of an individual which was watched two weeks ago at the Lancashire Wildlife Trust reserve (the car park here was still closed due to safety measures in the current climate as this column went to press last week).
Thanks to Phil for letting me use his image.
The species has a preference for clean water and lush vegetation according to the superb Field Guide To The Dragonflies And Damselflies, by Steve Brooks, Steve Cham and Richard Lewington.
It is also feisty, which counts for a lot in insect terms, and will boldly see off the much larger emperor dragonfly in territorial tussles.
For years hairy dragonfly has lurked as close to us as the Weaver Bend near Frodsham, but never made it into the Lancashire and North Merseyside recording area until now.
Four spotted and gorgeous broad bodied chasers are on the wing now too, and I watched a stunning male broad bodied close to Ainsdale Discovery Centre only last week, a vision in powder blue.
Almost constantly active, it swept over the still surface of a sheltered scrape favoured by natterjack toads.
These restless insects are the perfect form of stress relief – watching them bask and dart on a hot afternoon is one of