Newsletter: A spring dedicated to dragonflies

I was very happy to spend most of my time studying Odonata during the short period of 2024 spring… searching for rare and endangered species, sharing my experience with young French odonatologists and meeting fruitfully with the European Dragonflies friends… A true taste of happiness.

In 2024, we saw how the Dark Spreadwing (Lestes macrostigma) had a good season in its sub-urban location near the Malaga airport. This species was observed for about ten years although only recently repeated breeding proved the establishment of a local and sustained population.

I worked in the TRAGSA biodiversity monitoring programme during the month of June to evaluate the status of species included in the Natura 2000 Directive, with special emphasis on locating populations of the Splendid Cruiser (Macromia splendens) in the Guadiaro river basin. Even if this species is present in a relatively large area in Southern Spain, it is important to emphasize that it is highly scattered, and contrary to what a distribution map might suggest, their population is much reduced.

Likewise, I was able to survey the emergence of Onychogomphus cazuma in its only known population in Andalusia (!). We collected approximately 50 exuviae, demonstrating the diminutive size of its population. We also had the opportunity to photograph the dragonflies on various occasions.

Finally, the Iberian odonates were baptized with Spanish names. After long-term work, starting in 2014 at the Córdoba Symposium, we recently published a proposal for their common names. The article collects a lot of information and it is a personal pride to be one of its authors. We hope to promote the interest for damselflies and dragonflies, with names as beautiful as the “Guardarroyo”, “Centinela hebrada”, “Candil de Cazuma” and many others.

ROLA (Andalusian Recording Scheme of Dragonflies in Andalusia) organized the seventh European congress of Odonatology (ECOO) convened by the Iberian Group of Odonatology . The event was hosted at the House of Science in Seville and was well received. We believe that our European colleagues enjoyed the Andalusian city. From G3 we organized a tour after the congress that was phenomenal, with c. 40 species sighted, including some of the rarest and most representative species of the Western Mediterranean. An account of this phenomenal excursion will soon be published in the DCE newsletter.

We received at our NGO El Bosque Animado two young people which started collecting exuviae in the Genal. We want to thank Eva and Cécile for their efforts and wish them a good continuation on their path as odonatologist. See you soon.

Finally… During our summer tour to the Dolomites (Italy), we visited numerous small lakes. After many difficulties, we managed to photograph one of the rare dragonflies in Europe: the Azure hawker (Aeshna caerulea), a novelty for me, very well observed in its typical behavior of sunning itself on rock. Amazing sight.