Worcestershire and the new Dragonfly Atlas of England, Wales & Scotland
Mike Averill
2010 was the third of a five year project to remap the dragonflies in the UK mainland. In Worcestershire 884 new records were added to the previous two years to give 2751 in total.
The results from the first three years in Worcestershire are summarised in the map (Fig. 1.). This shows how many species have been recorded in each 2x2 km square and the total is coded into nine groups as per the key. It shows that many squares have only two species or less recorded which is obviously an underestimate of the real situation. There are a few sites coded to nine which means there are between 17 and 19 species for example the Grimley gravel pits and Upton Warren. If possible recording in the blank areas is needed as the popular sites are well covered.
In 2010 new records helped to fill in some of the outlying areas around Tenbury and the old South Birmingham part of the vice county, but there are still large gaps in quite a few locations such as in the SW of the county and in SO97.
To see which species are under-recorded check the species listed in the table below against the 10x10 km squares. The table is set in two parts to cover all species.
| Aeshna cyanea | Aeshna grandis | Aeshna juncea | Aeshna mixta | Anax imperator | Calopteryx splendens | Calopteryx virgo | Coenagrion puella | Cordulegaster boltonii | Enallagma cyathigerum | Erythromma najas | Erythromma viridulum | Gomphus vulgatissimus | |
| SO56 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||||||||||
| SO66 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 1 | ||||||
| SO67 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | |||||
| SO73 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| SO74 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| SO75 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| SO76 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | |||||
| SO77 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 7 | ||
| SO83 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 4 | |||||
| SO84 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 2 | 11 | 32 | 8 | 5 | ||||
| SO85 | 3 | 12 | 6 | 19 | 8 | 1 | 19 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 3 | ||
| SO86 | 8 | 7 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 16 | 24 | 33 | 15 | 1 | |||
| SO87 | 23 | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 3 | 45 | 22 | 16 | 1 | 1 | |
| SO88 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 11 | |||||
| SO93 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 6 | 3 | 19 | 32 | 3 | ||||
| SO94 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 111 | 8 | 24 | 48 | 8 | 2 | 15 | ||
| SO95 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | ||||
| SO96 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 10 | 39 | 15 | 21 | 14 | 3 | ||||
| SO97 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3 | ||||||||
| SO98 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| SP03 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| SP04 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| SP05 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |||||||
| SP06 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||||||
| SP07 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 3 | ||||||
| SP08 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| SP13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| SP14 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| SP16 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |||||||
| SP18 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Total | 127 | 112 | 10 | 84 | 156 | 251 | 71 | 244 | 5 | 288 | 89 | 10 | 33 |
| Ischnura elegans | Lestes sponsa | Libellula depressa | Libellula fulva | Libellula quadrimaculata | Orthetrum cancellatum | Platycnemis pennipes | Pyrrhosoma nymphula | Sympetrum danae | Sympetrum fonscolombii | Sympetrum sanguineum | Sympetrum striolatum | Total | |
| SO56 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 15 | |||||||||
| SO66 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 60 | |||
| SO67 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 37 | |||||||
| SO73 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||
| SO74 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 21 | |||||||
| SO75 | 3 | 5 | 16 | ||||||||||
| SO76 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 41 | ||||||
| SO77 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 82 | |||||
| SO83 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 67 | |||||
| SO84 | 28 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 25 | 198 | ||
| SO85 | 36 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 194 | |||
| SO86 | 37 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 22 | 269 | ||
| SO87 | 50 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 34 | 1 | 9 | 36 | 342 | ||
| SO88 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 16 | 86 | ||||||
| SO93 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 184 | ||
| SO94 | 69 | 3 | 9 | 26 | 3 | 16 | 54 | 33 | 1 | 32 | 503 | ||
| SO95 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 71 | |||
| SO96 | 30 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 20 | 260 | ||
| SO97 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 35 | |||||||
| SO98 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 30 | ||||||||
| SP03 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| SP04 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 68 | ||||
| SP05 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 20 | ||||||||
| SP06 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 42 | ||||||
| SP07 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 62 | ||||||
| SP08 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 12 | |||||||||
| SP13 | 4 | ||||||||||||
| SP14 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||
| SP16 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 23 | |||||||
| SP18 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||
| 376 | 27 | 70 | 39 | 57 | 131 | 107 | 169 | 2 | 5 | 56 | 232 | 2751 |
Table shows the number of records for each species per 10x10 km square in Worcestershire for 2008-10
Please send your records to mike.averill@blueyonder.co.uk and these should contain at least the basic information about the location of the dragonfly with an NGR, date and species, but if you can give any estimate of numbers or breeding activity that would add a lot to the record. If you feel keen I can send a spreadsheet with a pick list of species already entered.
If you travel outside Worcs, don’t forget this work is part of a national atlas and all records are welcome. I am happy to receive any records or you can enter them online via the British Dragonfly Society website: http://www.ghmahoney.org.uk/bds/recording/recordentry.aspx
Records from Herefordshire are badly needed to bring the dataset up to date.
Image
Fig. 1. The number of records of dragonflies in Worcestershire for each 2x2 km square (see code) collected in the first three years of the project.
