The Norfolk hawker dragonfly had been recorded at the Great Fen in previous years, but not outside of Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserve. This year it was finally seen on the restoration land, on the Northern Loop Trail, hunting over the wildflower meadows. This species was recorded on our ‘butterfly & dragonfly transects,’ as well as being seen multiple times on public events, including the ‘Dragonfly Wildlife Training Workshop' and this year’s ‘Great Fen Ecotour;’ the first time this ‘green-eyed’ beauty had been spotted on the tour!

We have had an increased number of sightings of this species at Woodwalton Fen this year, including females laying eggs into frogbit. Hawker dragonflies often lay their eggs inside floating plant tissue, protecting them from parasitism. In this country, the Norfolk hawker used to be dependent on another aquatic plant, water-soldier, which is not present at the Great Fen. The Norfolk Broads have been a stronghold for this dragonfly for some time (hence its name), where water-soldier is thought to be native. For a while now, the dragonfly could be found locally, at places where water-soldier had been introduced, such as Paxton Pits Nature Reserve.

Now that we have more evidence of the successful dispersal of this insect and what they are attempting to use for breeding, we expect to see more of them. Watch out for reports of this species from more of our reserves next year, if you have not spotted them already; wetlands and riverside meadows are a good bet, such as those along the River Nene and the Great Ouse.

Butterfly & dragonfly transects, a method we use to survey both groups of insects at the same time, finally detected the presence of southern migrant hawker at the Great Fen this year. This species has been steadily expanding its range, with regular records from other sites in Cambridgeshire in recent years (incl. Quy Fen and Ditton Meadows), so it was only a matter of time before it turned up at the Great Fen.

The stunning, blue-eyed males were seen flying low over the reedbeds (typical behaviour) at the Engine Farm test beds this summer. We identified at least three males, based on photographs of their wings, which show varying degrees of wear and tear. The next step is to identify the presence of the females that, unlike all other hawker dragonfly species, lay their eggs in tandem (the male and female flying together, the male holding the female behind her head).

Thanks to the creation of the wet farming test beds at Engine Farm, we have an example of a rare habitat in Cambridgeshire at the Great Fen. Due to the influence of the planted sphagnum, an acidic (rather than the typical alkaline fen) wetland habitat is available for colonisation. Some of the more mobile insect groups, such as dragonflies, could take advantage of this opportunity, and we hoped that in time our monitoring would detect this colonisation taking place. Along with the records of southern migrant hawker this summer, was the unexpected appearance of a male keeled skimmer!

Unlike the southern migrant hawker, this species of skimmer was previously recorded in the Fens, with records around the early 1900s, but none since then. Smaller and much rarer than the familiar black-tailed skimmer, this species has been recorded in Bedfordshire, to the southwest (approx. 64km). However, the nearest population is 55km to the northeast at Roydon Common and Tony Hallatt Memorial Reserve, the location of another former Fenland inhabitant, the black darter. The shallow, acidic habitats present in the southern test beds at Engine Farm are typical of the skimmer’s needs (it being associated with wet heathland habitat),

Looking forward to the future, we will have another area dedicated to wet farming at the Great Fen, thanks to the ‘Peatland Progress’ Project. As this species is known for its ability to colonise suitable sites quite rapidly, we will be on the lookout for this skimmer. In the meantime, this year, the count for dragonflies and damselflies at the Great Fen has reached an impressive 26 species (now that the southern migrant hawker and keeled skimmer have been added).

What is next on the list? Well, the downy emerald is a species of wooded ponds and it is returning to the county, so we’ll be keeping a lookout for it at the Great Fen, as it has been recorded just over 25km away.

The changeable weather this summer has meant that poor conditions have continued to yield few moths records this year. However, if you do not survey, you will get no records anyway and miss something important and very exciting! This autumn has been a case in point, as a recent trapping session only recorded 24 moths. In one trap at our nature reserve at Ramsey Heights, amongst a group of hornets, was a Clifden nonpareil. This is the classic all-time favourite of Victorian collector's, also known as the 'Blue Underwing'.

In the British Isles, this moth was formerly resident in certain parts of Kent and Norfolk during the 20^th century, but it became extinct as a breeding species and for some time, was only recorded as an occasional immigrant.

In recent years it has been on the increase and is now considered to be recolonising and, once again, is a breeding species in some counties.

This is not the first Clifden nonpareil we have recorded in the Great Fen, but this one still caused great excitement amongst staff and volunteers alike. As it flew off, I could not help but wonder how many more were out there.

Moth-trapping (night-time light trapping) raises opportunities to follow up on the discovery of a male great silver water beetle in May of this year. This species is known to be caught in large numbers in such moth traps, especially in the autumn.

While the male water beetle was found at Woodwalton Fen, other suitable habitats exist elsewhere in the Great Fen, such as those at Rymes Reedbed, 7km to the northwest. This area is being targeted for moth trapping this autumn, using generators as a power source. The first survey, on 6 September, was carried out by volunteers and caught over 100 moths of 44 species, as well as a forest bug and a common sexton beetle. The volunteers thought it odd and amazing at the same time, to capture beetles. When they did, not surprisingly, they turned out to be the largest beetles they had ever seen!

Two, yes two great silver water beetles were caught during the moth trapping session, but more importantly, one was a female. This is exactly the result we wanted, as it raises the possibility of the presence of a breeding population at the Great Fen, rather than just the process of colonisation taking place this year. Of course, the volunteers were really happy for it to be seen in the Fen gain this year, especially as it has been absent for so long.

Keeping up the momentum in the public interest in water beetles, we hope to run a weekend-long Wildlife Training Workshop at the Great Fen next March (Sat 28th & Sun 29th), supporting future aquatic invertebrate monitoring; look out for news of this event in the coming months, and come and join Kevin Rowley and myself at Ramsey Heights next year. In the meantime, keep an eye on what you get in your moth traps, if we can find a dry spell to run them!

Henry Stanier (Great Fen Monitoring & Research Officer)