Just wait until the animal perches on some low vegetation and approach slowly and carefully. Visual Surveyĭragonflies and damselflies may be observed without the aid of any equipment. As it takes a while for dragonflies and damselflies to warm up and get active, it is generally recommended to survey between 10AM and 4PM. Often surveys during the first sunny weather after a prolonged period of poor weather can be most productive. Ideally the temperature should be above 17 oC, though for Irish conditions, 15 oC is the recommended minimum . Surveys should be carried out on dry, sunny, cloudless, and windless days. The duration of the flight period for most Irish species is 15 – 22 weeks, but most individuals die within a few days of emerging due to weather and predation. They may also be consumed by carnivorous plants. Dragonflies and damselflies are predated upon by birds, spiders, frogs and newts. In poor weather and low temperatures, dragonflies and damselflies cannot fly and will rest in a variety of vegetation. The adults feed on smaller insects but may also take smaller dragonflies and damselflies, butterflies and bees. Males tend to monopolise the areas around the breeding pools, with dragonfly males typically exhibiting territorial behaviour. When adults reach sexual maturity they return to water to mate and lay. Dragonflies are likely to disperse more widely and hunt as single individuals in sheltered woodland. Damselflies are the most likely to congregate in sheltered areas close to the breeding site. Newly emerged adults seek out areas away from the water in which to feed and roost. The teneral stage lasts about a day but in some species it can take up to two weeks for adults to achieve their mature colours. Tenerals are very delicate (and should not be handled), show little body colouration, and have a distinct sheen to the wing membranes. Newly emerged adult dragonflies and damselflies are termed ‘tenerals’. Larvae feed on freshwater macro-invertebrates and even small fish. Larval development typically lasts one or two years but can take just a few months in some damselfly species, up to 5 years for the Golden-ringed dragonfly. As in the adults, the eyes of damselfly larvae are set far apart. Dragonfly larvae are larger and more robust than damselfly larvae. Once hatched, the larvae moult through between 6 and 18 larval instars. However, eggs laid in autumn may enter a period of suspended development due to low temperatures and will only hatch the following Spring. In suitable temperatures the eggs can hatch in 2-5 weeks. The eggs are tiny (<0.75mm) and are either laid singly on the inside of the stems or leaves of aquatic plants, or in clusters into water or wet mud. The life cycle of dragonflies and damselflies consist of three distinct stages: Eggs
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