Golden-ringed Dragonfly
Cordulegaster boltonii
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Britain's longest dragonfly — black with gold rings, and a hunter of acid hill burns.
A large and unmistakable dragonfly: jet black with bold golden-yellow rings along the abdomen and brilliant green eyes. Females have a long spike-like ovipositor that makes them Britain's longest dragonfly. Golden-ringed dragonflies breed in acid, stony, fast-flowing hill burns and moorland streams, which makes upland Dumfries and Galloway a national stronghold.
Behaviour
Adults hunt powerfully along burns, woodland edge and open hillside, and will take large prey including other dragonflies and bumblebees. The female hovers vertically above shallow gravel and stabs her ovipositor repeatedly into the streambed to lay. Larvae bury themselves in silt and gravel and take up to five years to develop in cold running water.
When to see it
Quick facts
- Family
- Spiketails (Cordulegastridae)
- Size
- Body 74–84 mm · Britain's longest dragonfly
- Status
- Native; south-west Scotland is a stronghold
Photo by Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons