Page 37 - World of Animals - Issue #31

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Damsels in distress Damsels in distresss
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Helicopter damselfly
These enormous spider-eating damselfl ies
also prey on disease-spreading insects
While more colossal odonates previously
Plucking spiders out of their webs for
graced our Earth, helicopter damselfl ies
lunch is no problem for the adult helicopter
are the largest of these insects currently
damselfl y, and its larvae are also formidable
in existence. The biggest of their kind,
hunters. The babies (or naiads) are born in
Megaloprepus caerulatus, can be found in
water-fi lled tree holes, where they hungrily
the rainforests of Central and South America.
feed on the larvae of disease-carrying
Measuring approximately 19 centimetres (7.5
mosquitoes. This makes conserving the Clear wings with
inches) long, they are easy to spot thanks
helicopter damselfl y especially important: not bands of white
to their inconspicuous blue wing tips. Some
only are they incredible specimens in their own and dark blue
observers have described them as ‘pulsating
right, but also their existence has a positive at the tips
blue and white beacons’.
impact on the health of humankind.

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White-faced darter
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These rare moss-dwelling dragonflies are
gradually being brought back to Britain

Another dragonfly that desperately depends on a specific kind

of habitat is the white-faced darter. Populations in the UK have
been declining for decades. This is largely due to the fact that
darters rely on Sphagnum moss for the growth of their larvae,
but most of the lowland peat bogs where these wetland plants
thrive have been destroyed.
The Sphagnum-bearing peat bogs that remain have
become sacred grounds for the white-faced darter, and Females have yellow
conservationists have begun the process of reintroducing and black bodies,
larvae and eggs in these locations. Witherslack Mosses in but males are red

Cumbria and Delamere Forest in Cheshire are the first sites and black
where the vulnerable insects have been given a boost. It’s
hoped that other environments around the UK will also be able
to support colonies of these attractive dragonflies.

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