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We had quite a chilly spring up until a few weeks ago so I wasn’t too surprised (though a bit disappointed) not to see any damselflies (or dragonflies) in April.  However, after a number of days of hot weather, the first of the season’s damselflies and dragonflies are now emerging.

The first damselflies of the season to appear are Large Red Damselflies with beautiful bright red and yellow colours. The next ones are the Blue-Tailed and Common Blue Damselflies with lovely electric blue and black stripes. The first dragonfly to emerge in this area is usually the Four-spotted Chaser which has been described as looking like a flying cigar!

Good locations to see them around Blairgowrie include Whiteloch and Fingask Loch and yesterday we had a walk through the beautiful bluebells and down to the lochs to have a look for emerging damselflies.

Dragonflies & damselflies actually spend most of their life as larvae underwater, with some species living there for up to five or six years. Golden-ringed Dragonflies live in upland burns where temperatures and food availability are relatively low, so take the longest of our dragonflies to reach adulthood. The female lays her eggs in the bed of the burn and because she needs to lay them deep in the substrate, she looks a bit like a pneumatic drill when laying them. I have seen this happen in the boats at Whiteloch! The eggs hatch into larvae, which live in the bed of the burn and feed on small invertebrates such as midge larvae, water fleas and freshwater shrimps. As they get bigger they shed their skins and grow bigger ones until it is time to emerge as an adult.

We were lucky to see Blue-tailed Damselflies flying around and Common Blue Damselflies emerging from their larval skins. The skin that is left behind is called an exuvia and the attached photo shows the damselfly standing over its exuvia while it dries out & fluid is pumped around the body and wings.

Perthshire Wildlife is running a family-friendly Dipping for Dragons event at Tullyfergus Ponds on Sun, 26th June from 2-4pm. The walk will take us to excellent wildlife ponds along ancient Drove Roads to find the local dragonflies – and find out how to tell the difference between the commoner species. We’ll have some fun pond dipping and look at dragonfly larvae and other watery wildlife too. It will be a great afternoon for all the family!

The walk is about 1 mile long, with some small hills so please wear sturdy shoes and bring waterproofs. The meeting point is halfway between Blairgowrie and Alyth and not on a public transport route. A map of the meeting point will be e-mailed on booking.

The price is £15 per family – up to 2 adults and 2 children per family. As numbers are limited, please book your tickets in advance on www.perthshirewildlife.co.uk/events  Keep an eye on the website & Facebook or Twitter pages for other walks over the summer – including Foraging Food for Free, Red Kites of Glen Artney and Private Beaver Safaris!