Another prune and another Chaser, though the scarce bit wasn’t applicable around Arçais, which was crawling with them in 2011. I fancy I must have been guilty of dismissing them as Black-tailed Skimmers on earlier visits. Didn’t spot any females, though – they were certainly scarce!
If you find our pruinose dragonflies a little confusing, here is an id/comparison chart to help.
Id Notes
- Dark triangle on inboard edge of hind-wing (typical Chaser)
- Bright orange abdomen with dark dorsal stripe (♀)
- Blue pruinose abdomen, black-tipped at S8-10 (mature ♂)
- Blue/grey eyes (mature ♂)
- Sometimes faint, dark patches at wing tips
| male | |||
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| immasture male | |
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| female | |||
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| in-cop | |
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Have not seen in Surrey – many in Sussex. Where are they found – if any in Surrey?
I’ve had a look on the NBN Atlas which is where all county records end up, eventually – it takes a couple of years for them to filter through. There were records of L. fulva submitted in 2019 around Ripley. Given that it’s a river species, I imagine they were related to the River Wey, nearby.
You could also contact the Surrey County Recorder for the BDS and ask.