White Faced Darter Leucorrhinia dubia
The White-faced Darter is a small dark libellulid, which as the name suggests has a pale creamy white frons. The male has a narrow black abdomen, which is marked with red and orange on the dorsal and lateral segments. The thorax is also black with faint red antehumal stripes and lateral markings. These markings often darken with age and in flight the male can appear almost completely black. Consequently, the white-faced darter can be confused with the Black Darter. However, the flight periods of these two species usually only overlap for a very short period, making identification easier. Furthermore, the white frons is very distinctive, but specimens should be examined in the hand to confirm a positive identification. Females and teneral males are also predominantly black with a white frons, but have pale yellow thoracic and abdominal markings. Larvae are typically libellulid. They are easily distinguishable from other Darter larvae, by the presence of dark stripes on the underside of the abdomen. In Britain the White-faced Darter is a rare dragonfly with a disjunct distribution1. It has declined, notably in England, in the last 35 years and it is now present at only half of the localities at which it occurred in the mid 20th Century4. Currently there are only five breeding sites in England1 and fears for the future of this species have led to its inclusion in the Biodiversity Action Plans of Cheshire and Cumbria. It is also afforded protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. Distribution L. dubia is found throughout northern Europe and east to Siberia. In Britain it is essentially a northern species and at the southerly limits of its range it is restricted to mountain areas such as the Pyrenees and Alps. In Britain this scarce species is found at isolated sites from the Midlands to north Scotland. Historically it occurs as far south as Surrey, but this population now appears to be extinct. Consequently, Chartley Moss is the most southerly distribut
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Keywords: bogs, conservation, days, dragonflies, entomology, flying, habitat, insects, odonata, odonatists, peaty, ponds, pools, protection, rare, scotland, sphagnum, strathspey, summer, sunny, warm
