Do you know your damsels from your dragons? If you do, here’s an opportunity to put your expertise to the tet. If you don’t, it’s the perfect opportunity to learn! The British Dragonfly Society are running the Dragonfly Challenge from 15th – 23rd July. It’s a citizen science project with a serious aim: to find out the abundance and geographical range of British dragonfly species.
All you need to do is pick any day in the period 15-23 July, take yourself to a likely spot, note what species are around, and tell the BDS. As simple as that!
It can be your garden pond, the River Thames or any other body of water. Why not combine dragonfly spotting with a stroll in Chiswick House Gardens, Gunnersbury Triangle, Kew Gardens or the Wetlands Centre at Barnes? All data will contribute to a report State of Dragonflies 2020
To submit your records, fill in this form (click on the right hand end of the boxes to get a number scale) and either click the “Send Form” button or email it to dragonflychallenge@british-dragonflies.org.uk. It also doubles as a handy spotting guide!
The easiest way to tell a dragonfly from a damselfly? Look at their wings when they’re resting. A dragonfly rests with its wings open, a damselfly with wings closed down its back. Dragonflies also fly more strongly than damselflies.