The 2018 Dragonfly Hunt aims to draw nationwide attention to the plight of UK dragonflies and damselflies.
Many species are under threat due to the contamination and destruction of their wetland habitats.
‘Dragon Hunters’ must hone their identification skills to track down as many of the six spotlighted species as possible in one month.
“The aim of this project is to give members of the public the opportunity to discover the fascinating world of Dragonflies and to engage a new audience in biological recording,” explains Eleanor Colver, conservation officer for the British Dragonfly Society (BDS).
The BDS is challenging participants to look for six species, which will be revealed gradually. The first two species included in the challenge are the large red damselfly and blue-tailed damselfly.
Participants are challenged to spot six species, including the large red damselfly © S Rae
“Although flight periods and distribution vary across the UK, the species have been carefully selected to make sure that members of the public across the country have an equal chance of finding at least some of them,” says Colver.
All documented sightings will contribute to the BDS’s database. This will allow the society to identify key locations that require protecting, and therefore ‘Dragon Hunters’ will have a direct impact on dragonfly and damselfly conservation.
Find out more about the challenge on the BDS website.