Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe [Paperback]

Anyone travelling in Europe, and interested in identifying the dragonflies and damselflies they see, should get their hands on a copy of this book. (If there is a better guide to the Odonata of the region it has not been published in English!).

However,if you are new to dragonfly identification, and likely to do most of your dragonfly watching in Britain, I would recommend starting with a guide which covers fewer species (Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Great Britain and Ireland by S. Brooks, or Britains Dragonflies by D. Smallshire and A. Swalsh) - these cover all the species you are likely to see, are less confusing to learn from, and the information (eg. flight periods) is more relevant to Britain!

This book has a short introductory section providing all the information needed to enable readers to make full use of the species accounts which make up the main body of the book. A 22 page 'regional guide' gives some idea of the best sites or regions to visit, although this is not intended as a precise guide to where specific species may be found.

The species accounts feature superb illustrations with the addition of high quality photographs of many species increasing the overall appeal of the book. The text identifies which identification features are visible in the field, as well as highlighting details which may need to be checked 'in the hand' for positive identification. There are a number of tables to help with identification to families/ genera, and also to make the seperation of similar species clearer.

The English names given to each species may seem a bit strange, with Emerald Damselflies changed to 'Spreadwings' and the 'blue' damselflies called 'Bluets', (following nomenclature used in America). Other names changed to better apply to the species in Europe rather than Britain (eg Green-eyed Hawker instead of Norfolk Hawker). Names in common usage in Britain have been included underneath the chosen name though, and are also found in the index.

All in all, an excellent guide, and one which I will be getting a lot of use from!

This brand new guide is now the top guide to the Odonata of Europe. It covers the 120 species found in Europe, plus 40 more from western Turkey, Cyprus, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Azores, Canaries and Madeira. The key attraction, for me at least, is the plates by Richard Lewington. We have come to expect the very highest standards from this artist and we are certainly not disappointed here, either by technical prowess or aesthetic impact. The text is firm, concise and authoritative too.

The guide begins with preliminary chapters such as 22 pages of introduction to identification of sub-orders, families and genera and a handy 28 page regional guide to the best sites for observing Odonata written by Europe's leading experts.

The body of the guide is organised as follows. Each genus is treated to an Identification section covering diagnosis, separation from other genera, separation of the species, and behaviour. A similar identification section is devoted to each species, this time comprising a general statement, field characters, hand characters, variation, and behaviour. The general statement is helpful for the beginner. For example, the text for Anax imperator reads "A common and conspicuous dragonfly of African origin, which only recently has colonised large parts of northern Europe. Patrolling males are easily recognised by their size, unmarked green thorax and blue abdomen with a black mid-dorsal stripe." Identification is followed by a section on Occurrence: range & status, habitat, flight season. The range is plotted on a large, clear map some 5.5 cm square.

Nearly 1000 large, annotated, full-colour illustrations depict males, females and any variation. Annotated pointers draw the reader's attention to key identification marks. Line drawings and monochrome sketches depict further critical detail such as genitalia. Each species is usually afforded a photograph too.

Note that the identification of larvae and exuviae - an entirely different proposition - is not covered by this guide.

This book is essential to anyone interested in dragonflies. It will become the standard guide for European dragonflies and of key relevance to the observer in Britain too.

Out of all dragonfly books, this is by far the best for purposes of general identification of species. The illustrations are excellent and as an European hobbyist, I couldn't be happier about the breadth of presented species. If you want to purchase just one book on dragons and either live in Europe or want data on European species, I recommend you get this book.

The only minus is the lack of data on identification of the larvae, however this probably doesn't matter for most people. :)