Odonata.

Dragonflies to you and I. Spring is heralded by the Cuckoo (though I wonder how many have heard it in the flesh!), Autumn by fruits and colour, Winter by the first frost. Summer, some say, is heralded by the arrival of the first Swallows... I beg to differ. Summer is heralded by Pyrrhosoma nymphula - the Large Red Damselfy. High summer by dogfighting Hawkers, and Autumn's approach, by the masses of Common Darters.

I'm obsessed, I admit it.

Water plays an important part in the life cycle of these truly ancient creatures - probably has done for 300 million years. Many court the opposite sex above rivers and ponds, and almost all lay their eggs in water. The nymph stage (they don't fully metamorphose) is anywhere between a few months to 4 years, predating anything smaller in ponds and rivers around the world. In fact, water is the element that dragonflies spend most of there lives in.

But.

And it's a big but.

It's only when they hit the air that their true beauty and grace is revealed.

Spend a warm summers day by pretty much any body of water, and you'll see what I mean. Hawkers patrolling ponds, Skimmers skipping inches above the water, and Darters lying on top of vegetation, ready to, er, dart out at anything passing by.

So don't dismiss them as bugs. Welcome them into your walks on the wildside and see how much they brighten your life!