Autumnal Dragons

Male Ruddy Darter

Male Ruddy Darter

Male and female Migrant Hawker (the male is the blue one)

Male and female Migrant Hawker

Male Common Darter

Male Common Darter

Male and female Common Darter

There are still a few dragonflies about, most notably when the sun is shining. As I have said in previous posts the Darters will be about for a couple of months yet,they are pretty hardy and it is lack of food which will kill them rather than the cold weather. I have often seen these buzzing around on sunny days in October/November and I have even seen Migrant Hawkers on warm days in December, although this has been an exception rather than the rule.

Strike a pose

A male Ruddy Darter in the 'obelisk' position. Dragonflies adopt this pose to regulate heat in their bodies, what is known as 'postural thermoregulation' for any one who is interested! On warm, sunny days these little darters can quite often be seen posing like this.

Darters

Two quite similar darter species of dragonfly are the Common Darter and the Ruddy Darter. They are both found in good numbers at Maxey gravel pits, where the above photos were taken.

The Common Darter is in the first 4 photos, the first 2 are of a female (I think) and the other 2 are of the male. The last photo of the Common Darter shows how similar it is to the male Ruddy Darter, which is in the next photo. The Ruddy Darter is told apart by the waisted blood red abdomen and the all black legs, both features that the Common Darter doesn't have.

The flight season of these two dragonflies can last until late Autumn, even after the first frosts, it is lack of food that eventually kills these beasts rather than cold nights.