Odonata

‘Horse-stingers‘ and ‘Devil’s Darning Needles‘, the old names for Dragonflies and Damselflies, are frequently encountered on my walks in the summer months. Be it the Common Hawker over reedy ponds and lakes, the magnificent Emperor Dragonfly seeing off intruders, including me, along river and canal edges, a Southern Hawker along my grassy paths and lanes, the quite stunningly beautiful Banded Demoiselle feebly fluttering beside slow water, the…. the list goes on.

The twenty colour plates by C.O. Hammond show all the British species via 182 colour figures and are expertly and precisely drawn. The result of a lifetime study of British dragonflies

This book is probably all that anyone requires if interested in British Dragonflies and Damselflies (it includes both). It gives a good introduction to the life history of these beasties, including that part below water which few of us ever see, yet forms by far the greater part of the life cycle of these magnificent insects.

Maps are useful as a guide but there has been both under-reporting for some species and either contraction or expansion of range for some. Few would be confused by the clear descriptions included

Living in Kent, I find more localised detail on Odonata species useful. Similar publications can be found for many counties

For those who prefer a photographic guide, less useful that they are, the small volume from Bob Gibbons includes good quality images, of both male and female when dissimilar in appearance, most photographs were taken by the author

Book from my shelves:

The Dragonflies of Great Britain and Ireland. Cyril O. Hammond, revised by Robert Merritt. Harley Books, 2nd edition 1985. ISBN 0 946589 14 3