Saturday 1 August 2015

Emperor Dragonflies and Broad-bodied Chasers

Broad-bodied Chaser, aged female, Libellula depressa
to view a gallery with more photos, click here
On Thursday I wandered around Arundel WWT and saw two Water Voles on the lily pads outside the visitor centre.
 On Friday morning we walked along Ferring Rife where I saw several male Emperor Dragonflies patrolling. I also observed a female Emperor Dragonfly laying eggs on lilies.
 In the afternoon I returned to Arundel WWT and checked out the car park area, the rife and the meadow where I found an aged female Broad-bodied Chaser. I observed a feisty Comma attack everything that flew near it, including a mature blue Broad-bodied Chaser which never came near enough for a photo. The meadow had Common Blues and Brown Argus. The rife had plenty of Commas, Red Admirals, Peacocks and Mother of Pearl moths. Back home I found a Marbled Green moth on the outside door.
Arundel WWT:
Blackbird, Turdus merula
Common Froghopper, Philaenus spumarius
Escallonia, Escallonia rubra redflora
Harlequin Ladybird, Harmonia axyridis
Hoverfly, Eristalis species
Mallow, Lavatera species
Marsh Woundwort, Stachys palustris
Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria
Nuthatch, Sitta europaea
Purple Loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria
Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta
Red Soldier beetle, Rhagonycha fulva
Tansy, Tanacetum vulgare
Water Vole, Arvicola amphibius
Ferring Rife:

female Emperor Dragonfly egg laying, Anax imperator





male Emperor Dragonfly
outside Arundel WWT:
Blue-tailed Damselfly ♂, Ischnura elegans
Brown Argus ♂, Aricia agestis
Comma, Polygonia c-album


Common Blue ♀, Polyommatus icarus
Common Blue ♂
Gatekeeper, Pyronia tithonus
Green-veined Whites, Pieris napi
The male is attempting to mate, but the female has raised her abdomen vertically to prevent him.
Green-veined White ♀ after male has left

Mother of Pearl, Pleuroptya ruralis
These moths always settled on the underside of leaves so I had to turn one over to photograph it.
Peacock, Inachis io
Pearl Veneer, Agriphila straminella
Marbled Green, Cryphia muralis

1 comment:

  1. Great set of photos Colin.
    Could the BBC be a very mature female?

    ReplyDelete

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