Broad-bodied is beautiful...

Meanwhile our faithful Broad-bodied Chaser dragonflies, Libellula depressa, have returned for another season. This yellow coloured female has been busy making herself at home amongst our new, wildlife-friendly winter meadow Campion flowers in the sunny, sheltered west-facing Old Rose Garden…

Female Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly, Libella depressa, perched on Campion in our winter meadow. Immature males are a similar colour — Female Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly, *Libella depressa,* perched on Campion in our winter meadow. Immature males are a similar colour

Broad-bodied Chasers were the very first dragonfly to show up, arriving in the first week of June 2014, our ponds first season. According to the British Dragonfly Society and Brook’s fieldguide they are an early species that prefer shallow sunny ponds and lake margins. Broad-bodied Chasers are common and widespread across Britain, although they have become less common in Fenland districts owing to the loss of farm ponds. The species becomes less abundant in ponds in late successional stages, but can be encouraged back by clearing marking vegetation.

The wide dusky blue abdomen of the male is unmistakeable. Both immature males and females are yellow and black and look a little like Four-spotted chales but lack the additional dark spots.

In the immature stage Broad-bodied Chasers may wander widely and can be found among hedgerows. Once adults sucessfully mate at a site the male will adopt and guard the pond as his territory, only moving on if he runs out of luck. They certainly proved very obliging to photograph to as they perch frequently in between laps of the pond, returning to the same stem each time to look out for rivals and females. When in residence they’re highly territorial on their short patrols, I even observed one successfully see off a larger passing Southern Hawker dragonfly.

Male Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly, Libellula depressa, the very first species to arrive and colonise our wildlife pond. — Male Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly, *Libellula depressa,* the very first species to arrive and colonise our wildlife pond.

A female Broad-bodied Chaser ovipositing in the clear water of our wildlife pond in early June 2014

Here there be Emperor Dragonflies

Its been a big week for Nar Cottage's wildlife garden as we discovered that our first "home grown" dragonfly had completed its three year lifecycle. This photo is of an Emperor dragonfly, Anax imperator, nymph "exuvia". That’s the exoskeletal shell left behind after the dragonfly nymph transforms into an adult dragonfly and emerges as a winged adult. The Emperor's emergence takes place overnight so sadly we didn't see it happening.

According to the British Dragonfly Society Emperor dragonflies are highly territorial and rarely settle, even feeding on the wing, while Brook’s fieldguide states that “Its vigour, agression and agility in flight are unequalled in Britain”. Emperors look very like other Hawker species, particularly the Southern Hawker, but often fly with a drooping rear abdomen and their apple-green thorax, which lacks the black stripes of other species, help to distinguish it. The female has a green abdomen, which may turn blue in hot weather.

Emperors are known for being early pioneers of new ponds and were one of the very first visitors to our brand new, bare-earthed pond back in 2013. Three years on and our pond looks very different, now teeming with aquatic life and surrounded by lush native plants and wildflowers that have spread out to cover much of its surface.

Our original Emperor dragonfly, Anax imperator, ovipositing on the base of reeds in 2013 — Our original Emperor dragonfly, *Anax imperator,* ovipositing on the base of reeds in 2013

In line with their reputation for preferring clear water, to date the Emperor dragonflies haven’t returned since that very first season, but we continued to see lots of Broad-bodied Chasers, Southern Hawkers as well as various damselflies about. Emperor dragonflies will even predate upon other Chaser dragonflies, so I hope our population of those survives its emergence!

A faint whisper of spring...

Winter Aconite, Eranthis Hyemalis Peeping Through Snow — Winter Aconite, *Eranthis Hyemalis* Peeping Through Snow

Even though we have had thick snow on the ground for a week and a half now there are still faint augurs of spring all around us if you look hard enough. And the sight of this bright yellow Winter Aconite, Eranthis Hyemalis amidst the snow brought me joy.

Gardening Value of Winter Aconite

This delicate, yet plucky little flower is one of the very first plants to flower in the new year; peeking its cheery buttercup-like head bravely out even when it has to tunnel through thick snow to do so, often while the more famously celebrated Snowdrops are still little timid shoots barely starting to make an appearance. As well as resembling a Buttercup, Winter Aconites are also related to them being in the Ranunculaceae or Buttercup family.

Winiter Aconites are very versatile adding bright, vibrant colour and interest in the wildllife garden at a barren time. They can work well both in an informal wooodland edge setting, along a hedge or more formally lining a border or pathway. It is very effective for winter ground cover and tubours spread quickly in a carpet-like fashion, not unlike Snowdrops. Aconites will thrive in part or full sun in fertile, moist, humus-rich soil.

Wildlife Value of Winter Aconite

Being such a seasonal pioneer, its early flowering habit makes Winter Aconite a blessing for wildlife, providing an invaluable nectar source for early foraging bees, flies, beetles and other insects, with its cup-shaped flowers affording easy access. It’s a must-have plant in any wildlife garden. As with all Ranunculaceae Winter Aconites are toxic plants to mammals and so resistant to grazing by herbivores such as Rabbits or Deer or Field Mice.

Plant Folklore of Winter Aconite

Eranthis Hyemals is a non-native perennial, originating in Southern Europe and the Balkans. It was first introduced in the 16th Century (1596), became fashionable in 18th century landscape gardens including those of Lancelot “Capability brown”. This encouraged naturalisation, with it first being recorded in the wild in 1838. Winter Aconites can be found in many parks and woodlands across England particularly South of the Midlands and in the East of England.

Early herbalist John Gerard listed the Winter Aconite as "Winter Wolfes-bane or Small Yellow Wolfes-bane” in his 1636 “Herbal, Historie of Plants” and incorrectly placed it in the Aconitum family within Ranunculaceae, which includes Wolfsbane, Aconitum napellus. He described Winter Aconite thus: “whole leaves come forth of the ground in the dead time of winter, many times bearing the snow on the heads of his leaves and flowers, yet the colder the weather is, and the deeper that the snow is, the fairer and larger is the flower”.

He also remarked upon its peculiar claimed virtue of sedating scorpions “it is reported to prevail mightily against the bitings of Scorpions, and is of such force, that if the Scorpion passes by where it groweth and touch the same, presently he becommcth dull, heavy,and (de)fence!ess”. English playwright Ben Jonson (1572-1637), also alluded to this alleged trait in his tragedy Sejanus in 1603, which includes the lines: “I have heard that Aconite / Being timely taken hath a healing might / Against the scorpion's stroke.” however this may stem from Winter Aconite’s early incorrect classification as a “true” Aconite and confusion with the deadly poisonous Wolfsbane, Aconitum napellus. Who knows, perhaps that is what Gerard took as his source!

Winter Aconite’s scientific name, Eranthis hyemalis, was establied by Salisbury in 1807 and stems from the Greek “er”, meaning ‘spring’ and “anthos”, flower added to hyemalis, the latin for ‘winter-flowering’. However its common name “Winter Aconite”, still refers back to the similarity of its leaf shape to plants in the Aconitum genus, this being the feature mostly used to classify plants before scientific methods were introduced.

Local folklore names for Winter Aconite include “Christmas-rose” (Somerset) and “New-year’s Gift” (Essex) for its seasonal timing, “Choirboys” (Essex) alluding to the foliage “collar” surrounding its flower-head. Also “Devi’s-wort” (Somerset) perhaps due to its poisonous nature.

For me, the little Winter Aconite is a symbol of hope and cheer when everything around is still bleak and harsh and, for that, I love it all the more.

Sources

Gerard, The herball, or, Generall historie of plantes

https://archive.org/stream/herballorgeneral00gera#page/966/mode/2up

Four-spotted Chaser Dragonfly

In between the summer storms we've been having I made a quick dash over the the Norfolk Broads in my first attempt to see a Swallowtail butterfly. I had no joy on the lepidoptera front, but did get to see my first ever Four-spotted Chaser dragonfly, Libella quadrimaculata, which was busy egg-laying in a pool.

According to the British Dragonfly Society, Four-spotted Chasers prefer shallower bodies of water with good emergent vegetation and areas of clear water and are widespread across the UK. Named after the striking dark spots half way along its wings, there is a rare form called prenubia that has an additional dark mark on the end of the wings. Both males and females have a similar appearance and their dark appearance makes them well-suited to Britains cooler climate. On the continent the species is cyclically migratory and occasionally vast swarms can be seen, while this is very rare in the UK, the species is a wanderer which has no doubt aided its distribution.

Four-spotted Chaser dragonfly female perched on reeds against a deep blue background at Strumpshaw Fen

Southern Hawker

Its late summer and already the weather is feeling very autumnal. I recently visited one of my favourite secluded dragonfly haunts and found the southern hawkers and common darters still zooming about and dancing over the water.

Hawker dragonflies are a fearless and highly competitive dragonfly species. They spend most of their time in flight hunting out smaller insects as prey. They are also highly competitive. It's beautiful to watch them do acrobatic battles with other dragonflies above the water, quite often there are conflicts between several dragonflies at once, reminiscent of a battle of Britain dogfight.

Like most predators. hawker dragonflies are very curious by nature and quite often one would come right up to hover in front of me for a few seconds before "buzzing" me and zooming off again. This shot was quite a challenge - it was taken handheld using manual focusing on my 180mm macro lens.

Kiri

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