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Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Natural history programme offering a unique insight into the natural world

Natural history programme offering a unique insight into the natural world and the rich variety of creatures inhabiting it

Nature: Series 8

Nature: Series 8: Episode 4: Bewitched by Dragonflies

Episode 4

Episode 4: Bewitched by Dragonflies

Series 8

Bewitched by Dragonflies

BBC Radio 4 - Nature, Series 8, Bewitched by Dragonflies

When a dragonfly landed on him in 1985, it changed Ruary MacKenzie Dodds's life!

As they hover and dart amongst the reeds at Wicken Fen, dragonfly enthusiast Ruary Mackenzie Dodds offers a fascinating insight into the lives of these versatile flying machines.

In 1985, a dragonfly landed on Ruary Mackenzie Dodds. Up until this time, he had never had much interest in insects, but so astonished and bewitched was he by "this beautiful" insect which had landed on his shirt, that he decided to find out more about dragonflies and in time that led to the founding of The Dragonfly Project to enthuse and educate people about dragonflies. In August 2013, Ruary 'handed over the baton' of the Dragonfly Project to The British Dragonfly Society who will continue this work alongside their own work to conserve dragonflies and their wetland habitats, but Ruary's eagerness to share his enthusiasm for these insects continues "I don't know what it is about dragonflies ... they absolutely electrify me ... I get so excited when I see them in the air". In this programme, Ruary searches for dragonflies and their larvae amongst the reeds and watery places of Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire and offers a fascinating insight into their lives. He's not disappointed there are common and ruddy darters, as well as brown and migrant hawkers darting, dashing and hovering over the reeds, or ovipositing their eggs in the water. Robin Wootton describes their extraordinary versatility; "They really have all the capabilities of a helicopter but they do it much quicker" and Milly Sharkey reveals how these insects can see colour and polarised light, even underwater in the larval stage; an advantage in a murky pond. Dragonflies can be traced back in the fossil record over 300 million years, and yet we still have much to learn about these 'Horse Stingers' and 'Devils Darning Needles' as they were once called, being falsely believed to sting or bite, when instead they are quite harmless. Just 'like a little piece of flying crystal' says Ruary.
Producer Sarah Blunt.

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