Bibliography

Further Reading

This page includes a list of books of both general and county specific relevance. Published material on the dragonflies of Montgomeryshire is extremely scare with only one paper appearing in the complete run of the Journal of the British Dragonfly Society to date and a very brief mention in an issue of the Bulletin of the Amateur Entomologists Society. All other sources are unpublished manuscripts held by archives or internal reports produced by the various nature conservation bodies with an interest in Montgomeryshire.

The writer is currently working on a small book introducing the species which have been recorded in Montgomeryshire which will be titled 'The Dragonflies of Montgomeryshire'.

Copies of the two reports listed below that are published in the Journal of the British Dragonfly Society (JBDS) can be obtained as back issues from the BDS Shop

County Specific Titles

Briggs J.D. 1988 Montgomery Canal Ecological Survey:survey report 1985-88. Unpublished report to NCC and BWB 237pp

Davies A. 1947 A record of the dragonflies of Montgomeryshire in 1947. MS in Powysland Museum, Welshpool. 3pp

Hollier J.A., Wistow R.J. and Walmsley A. 1987 The insects of the Montgomery Canal Bulletin of the Amateur Entomologists Society 46 pp.151-153

Peers M. 1985 The Dragonflies of mid-Powys JBDS Vol.1 No.6 pp.95-97

Wistow R.J. 1989 Dragonflies of the Montgomery Canal JBDS Vol.5 No.2 pp.28-35

General Interest Titles

Askew R.R.1988 The Dragonflies of Europe Harley Books, Colchester 291pp

British Dragonfly Society Dig a pond for dragonflies BDS

British Dragonfly Society 1993 Managing habitats for dragonflies BDS

Brooks S. 2002 Dragonflies The Natural History Museum, London 96pp

Brooks S., Lewington R. 3rd edn. 2002 Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Great Britain and Ireland British Wildlife Publishing, Hampshire 160pp (NOTE - Currently the best field guide for identification in the UK)

Corbet P.S., Longfield C. and Moore N.W. 1960 (reprinted 1985) Dragonflies New Naturalist Series, Collins, London 260pp (NOTE - The classic work on the biology of dragonflies. It is now out of print and extremely difficult to find. Second hand copies of the 1960 hardback edition can command prices up to £300 while copies of the 1985 paperback go for between £20-£80. Copies of both frequently appear on Ebay UK)

Corbet P.S. 1999 Dragonflies: Behaviour and ecology of Odonata Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York and Harley Books, Colchester 829pp

Hammond C.O. 1983 (2nd edn. revised by Merritt R.) The Dragonflies of Great Britain and Ireland Harley Books, Colchester 116pp

Longfield C. 1937 (2nd edn. revised 1949) The Dragonflies of the British Isles Wayside & Woodland Series, Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd. London 256pp (NOTE - This was the first widely available popular guide to identifying the species in the British Isles and is now considered a classic and collectable work. It is difficult to obtain, but does appear occasionally on Ebay UK Most book collectors seek the first edition, but for dragonfly enthusiasts the 1949 edition is a better purchase as it contains 12 coloured plates reproduced from WF Evans 1845 work "British Libellulinae or Dragonflies" as well as new photographs, revised text and updated county distribution record information which is of historical value.

Merritt R., Moore N.W. and Eversham B.C. 1996 Atlas of the Dragonflies of Britain and Ireland NERC, HMSO, London 151pp (NOTE - Out of print, but available second hand)

Smallshire D. & Swash A. 2004 Britain's Dragonflies WildGuides Ltd. Hampshire 168 pp, 64 colour plates RRP £15.00 (NOTE This is the first comprehensive photographic guide to the dragonflies and damselflies of Britain and Ireland, covering 44 breeding, 3 extinct, 10 vagrant and 6 potential vagrant species. Its innovative, easy-to-use format aims to help dragonfly-watchers identify any species they encounter, whether they be a beginner or an expert. The 64 remarkable full colour photographic plates show all you need to identify the adults. They have been produced using the latest digital image technology. There are also sections on larval identification, biology, habitats, recording and conservation. The text covers the key identification features of each species during the egg, larval and adult stages, emphasising the differences between similar species, and includes information on behaviour, breeding habitat, population and conservation. Colour distribution maps utilising the latest available data and charts showing flight period accompany the text for each species. Highly Recommended - get it from Amazon UK)

Online Titles

Corbet P.S. 1960 A Biology of Dragonflies Witherby London 247pp (Note - You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the pages). Two downloadable .pdf files of 8mb and 6mb contain the book.