Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve has been designated as a new 'Dragonfly Hotspot' – a site carefully selected by the British Dragonfly Society for its exemplary variety of dragonfly and damselfly species.
The reed-flanked ponds and myriad watercourses that make up the Cambridgeshire fen are an ideal place for these ancient winged insects to live, with 22 of the UK’s 57 species recorded at the 125-year-old nature reserve.
As part of its hotspot status, Wicken Fen will be looking to recruit new volunteer wildlife guides to ensure more visitors can learn about dragonflies and damselflies.
Wicken Fen is an internationally important nature reserve for dragonflies and damselflies, which are being increasingly displaced from their traditional ranges further south and in Europe due to climate change.
As one of the last remnants of undrained fen in East Anglia, the fenland is particularly important for species like the majestic emperor dragonfly – which spread northward to the reserve about 20 years ago – as well as the southern migrant hawker and willow emerald damselfly. The reserve is also home to the rare Norfolk hawker, classed as Endangered in the British Odonata Red List 2008.
In all, a little less than half of the UK's dragonfly and damselfly species can be found at Wicken Fen.
It's the plethora of ponds and waterways that makes the reserve such a suitable place for these insects to live and breed, says Dave Stanforth, Programming and Partnerships Officer for the National Trust at Wicken Fen.
“They depend on water in all stages of their lifecycle and all need water bodies to breed," Stanforth explains.
“Eggs are laid by adults either directly into water or onto plant material on or at the water’s edge. At the larval stage most species spend between one to two years underwater before developed final-stage larvae climb out of the water onto vegetation for a final moult when the adult dragonfly or damselfly emerges.
"Adults will then rely on a watery habitat to provide food - hunting over or near water to feed on other small insects during their very short lifespan, which is typically one or two weeks, exceptionally six to eight weeks. This means that Wicken Fen is an ideal place for them."
Managing the fen is important for the dragonflies and damselflies, Stanford says.
“The work undertaken by the team with careful rotation cutting on the Sedge Fen and ditch management to create successional stages for the dragonflies and damselflies – i.e. a mix of open water and young through to mature vegetation, has created the optimal habitat for these fascinating insects.
"In particular it is the ‘dragonfly bay’ areas of open grass alongside the water which have provided these insects – which are nature’s most successful stalkers – to have great places to perch, but they also allow visitors to get fantastic up-close experiences of these beautiful creatures.”
All this hard work has paid off. It's the sheer variety of dragonfly and damselfly species, as well as the easy access for visitors to enjoy them, that inspired the British Dragonfly Society to choose Wicken Fen as their newest Dragonfly Hotspot.
“We are delighted that Wicken Fen has achieved the status of dragonfly hotspot. It is a wonderful nature reserve which allows visitors to immerse themselves in nature," said Rosie Hails, Nature & Science Director at the National Trust.
"We hope for places like this to act as sources of these insects to replenish ponds and lakes across the countryside.”
Many of the works that have contributed to the hotspot designation form part of the larger Wider Wicken Fen Vision, a 100-year project launched in 1999 to create an even more diverse landscape for wildlife and people at the reserve.
As part of its new hotspot designation, Wicken Fen will be looking to recruit new volunteer guides to add to their already dedicated team.
Find out more about the conservation works at Wicken Fen.
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