Despite the sun making an appearance the last two days, there has been no sign of flying or perched Emperor Dragonflies, this is a clear sign of the end of summer but all's not lost on the Dragonfly front just yet because this is where the Hawkers take over the party. On this particular patch, the dominant species has been Emperor's for the most of the year but now they aren't around, Southern Hawkers have moved in. With nothing to chase them off territory, they can carry on getting the last of they're breeding out of the way quick enough before summer really does end and the cooler weather leads them to either die or hibernate. There are sections of the Canal that aren't favourable to Emperors and you'll find in those area's, they will be dominated by Common, Migrant or Southern Hawkers. These areas are usually surrounded by trees or woodland rather than meadows. Emperors will happily perch up in a meadow to roost and also actively hunt over fields but Hawker dragonflies favour woodland areas and can tolerate more shaded areas. It is this reason that (despite their frequent fighting) both species can thrive on a long water system like a canal. Soon however, the open grassland that surrounds this particular section of the canal will soon be lost and we may see a drop in numbers of Emperors as a result. With large houses either side of the canal system, we won't see the same amount of sun getting to the water and that will effect the dragonfly/damselfly activity.
Southern Dragonfly
