Sunday, 28 June 2015

Day 237 - Gloriously Delicate Golden Ringed Dragonflies

Golden Ringed Dragonfly ( Cordulegaster boltonii )
Hey everyone today's Day 236 and I thought that I would carry on the same sort of topic to Yesterday's Blue Damselfly post. I have kind of switched around the type of insect that I am covering, from a damselfly to a dragonfly. I'm glad it's warmed up a bit now and the dragonflies and damselflies are starting to emerge again as I really love looking for them,

I saw this lovely dragonfly at Silton Forest, a place where I go quite a lot. last year and I'm on the look out for them again. So far I've only seen a couple of Common Blue damselflys and a Large Red Dragonfly.  Well, from the title and pictures you'll know that today I am talking about Golden Ringed Dragonflies.

So, here are the facts:
  • They seem to be found everywhere but Ireland, Central England and Norfolk. They are found on Orkney but not on the Shetlands.
  • Males are usually about 74mm and Females are 84mm because of the ovipositor making the female the UK's longest dragonfly.
  • The wingspan of both can grow up to 10cm. That's only a centimetre off being Goldcrest size!
In wait for a meal!
  • They breed in rivers and streams of all sizes. They are most likely to be found in Heathlands and Uplands.
  • The only other Black and Yellow dragon/damselfly in the UK is the Common Club-Tail but the Golden Ringed is up to 34mm larger.
  • In case the photos aren't loading for you, they are black with, well, gold rings around it. They have green eyes and Females are longer and thinner.
  • They feed on a variety of insects, bees, wasps, beetle, moths, damselflies and even other     dragonflies.
  • As larvae they are aggressive hunter, they eat fish fry, other insect larvae, tadpoles and snails.
  • They can also be eaten by newts and frogs so they spend most of their time partially buried in mud ready to attack their prey.
  • They spend around 3 years, but some
    times longer, as larvae before they find a spot to complete there metamorphosis into an adult.
Here are some links to some more information:




Hope you enjoyed,

Z.
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