Latest news with #IanMerrill
BBC News
5 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Rare lesser emperor dragonfly spotted in Leicestershire
Walking in nature, you might not expect to come across a sought-after that's exactly what happened to Tony Clarke, when he snapped a picture of a rare dragonfly enthusiast spotted a lesser emperor at Rutland Water Nature Reserve in Leicestershire, England on 13 first recorded sighting of a lesser emperor dragonfly was in 2003, and there have only been seven live sightings documented since then. Ian Merrill, a dragonfly recorder and member of the British Dragonfly society, said the sighting was an "unusual occurrence".He also said that the presence of the species in the UK was "linked to climate change".The lesser emperor has been regularly migrating to the UK from Europe since about to the British Dragonfly Society, most species of dragonfly are tropical and prefer warmer habitat loss and climate change are threatening many as the UK's weather is expected to get warmer because of climate change, we might see different species of animals migrating to our shores.
BBC News
12-07-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Mixed feelings as dragonfly seen in Leicestershire for first time
A dragonfly from Norfolk has been spotted in Leicestershire for the first time. Ian Merrill, the Leicestershire and Rutland dragonfly recorder, spotted the Norfolk Hawker on the Grantham Canal, close to Redmile in June, and there has since been a further two sightings of the insect in the county. Mr Merrill, from the British Dragonfly Society, described the sightings of the green-eyed insect as an "exciting find" but also a "mixed blessing" as it showed insects were spreading "rapidly" from the south due to global warming. He added the find means 31 different species of dragonfly have been spotted in the county. 'Tempered' excitement The dragonfly recorder told the BBC the insects were first seen in Northamptonshire a couple of years ago and are now known to breed there, so there was an "expectation" the insect would appear in Leicestershire."It was a fantastic and welcome surprise to actually find the first one myself as I was looking for it," he said. "The excitement's sort of tempered by the fact that they shouldn't really be here and it's because of global warming, which is obviously not a good thing."Mr Merrill described the insect as having "fantastic bottle green eyes", an orange body and a "little yellow triangle" at the base of its abdomen which can be seen when it is Norfolk Hawker is "most likely" to be seen in June and July, with dragonflies visible in the UK from the end of April to November, he added.
