Country diary 1950: Possibly the only dragonfly left over the pond

"Although the sun was not actually shining yesterday afternoon it was bright enough to bring an Aeshna dragonfly out across the reeds of Red Arches pond. I think it was the southern Aeshna (A cyanea), although I had not the heart to catch what must surely be the last we shall see this year. The records say it has been seen as late as 12 November on three occasions. I have seen none later than mid-October before."

"This solitary female ignored entirely the flies over the water and seemed interested only in the soggy wooden piles which stick out of the mud near the sluice a favourite place for egg-laying. She soon discovered one of exactly the right degree of sogginess and flew down to it and alighted with her yellowed wings quivering. Very soon the striped tail-end was pressing into the wood with the regularity of a slowly turned sewing-machine needle."

Bright but not sunny conditions brought a southern Aeshna (A. cyanea) out across the reeds of Red Arches pond yesterday afternoon. The observer suspected it was the last dragonfly of the year, noting records of sightings as late as 12 November but personal experience only until mid-October. The solitary female ignored flies and examined soggy wooden piles near the sluice, a favourite egg-laying site. She selected several piles and repeatedly pressed and withdrew her striped tail-end into the wood for minutes at a time. Later, cuts at those spots revealed no eggs. The dragonfly may have been unmated and possibly the only adult remaining over the pond.

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