In the 13th of a series of articles featuring wildlife images from Wanstead Park and Wanstead Flats, Dr Tony Madgwick presents a shot of a Migrant Spreadwing damselfly, a species not previously seen in the area
As we move deeper into autumn, we see fewer damselflies and dragonflies around our local ponds and lakes. So, it was exciting to get a WhatsApp message and an image posted by Andy Gibbons (Wanstead Birders) last month saying he had found what he thought was an Emerald Damselfly, which has not been recorded on Wanstead Flats or in Wanstead Park since 1897, and in East London since the early 2000s.
The message had two of us from the Wren Wildlife Group rushing out to confirm the sighting. And this damselfly turned out to be even more exciting than we first thought, as we confirmed our suspicion that it was a Migrant Spreadwing (or Southern Emerald Damselfly). A further search of the pond area revealed the presence of another female and a male.
The Migrant Spreadwing is, as its name suggests, something of a wanderer. Common in parts of continental Europe, it was first recorded in Norfolk in 2002 and has since established a few isolated breeding colonies in the south-east of England, working its way up along the Thames in South Essex and North Kent. Finding these three leads us to hope they have begun to establish a new colony, the first in London.
Damselflies are the dainty relatives of the more familiar and robust aeronauts that are dragonflies. Dragonflies and damselflies are predators, both in the air as adults and underwater as larvae. As larvae, they can live from a few months to five years, depending on species, habitat and weather conditions. Assuming adequate food, the main factor driving growth of individual species is temperature, with warmer climates favouring faster growth.
In the UK, the Emerald group of mainly green-coloured damsels numbers four different species. All of these have now been recorded in the Wanstead Flats area within the last 125 years or so. However, the Emerald Damselfly and the Scarce Emerald Damselfly have declined rapidly and can no longer be found locally, except as occasional wanderers. The Willow Emerald Damselfly arrived in the UK from continental Europe in 2009 and is now one of the more locally abundant late-summer and early-autumn damselflies. Perhaps we can hope to add the Migrant Spreadwing to our local open spaces.
The reasons for the demise of some species and the success of others are complex, but human activity and climate change are both important factors. Where we can create and manage diverse mosaics of good quality habitat, we can hope to make existing and future assemblages of animals and plants resilient for future generations to enjoy.
For more information on the Wren Wildlife Group, visit wnstd.com/wren
