Finland July 28th - August 4th 2012 Part 1

After several years of going to Scotland to attempt to video Azure Hawker (Aeshna caerulea), I decided after last years trip which was the usual mix of sitting in the car in the rain all day and about twenty minutes sunshine in three days, to sort out a back up plan.

Being keen to video Azure Hawker and getting fed up of the vagaries of the Scottish weather, the plan was hatched to go and get them on the continent. I had sites in the Alps but thought Scandanavia was a much better bet. What clinched the choice, was also knowing that Yellow-winged Darter (Sympetrum flaveolum) was in most years a common species in Finland. After some email discussion with Sami Karjalainen who provided me with site information, local contacts and the Finnish Odonata database.

http://www.hatikka.fi/public_query2.php?queryid=0.339

Add to the mix, a whole new set of boreal Hawkers, 2 new White-faced Darters, Green Snaketail

(Ophiogomphus cecilia), Arctic Bluet (Coenagrion johanssoni) and at some great Emerald species, Finland was the obvious choice.

I must take this opportunity to thank Sami and also give special mention to Mikka Friman who joined me at Millykoski rapids and Janne Heimonen who spent an afternoon with me at Katageneva Toivaka.

This blog page does not represent a day by day account but provides a summary of the great places I visited and the species seen.

Videograbs from my trip DVD. See Trip DVD's for sale.

I arrived at Helsinki airport late at night so spent the night at the airport hotel before collecting my hire car the following morning. The first site I visited was Millykoski rapids where I met up with Mikka. This site is superb for Green Snaketail (Ophiogomphus cecilia).

Male Green Snaketail
Ophiogomphus cecilia

Male Green Snaketail
Ophiogomphus cecilia

 Other species seen at Millykoski were:


Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) 30
Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) 10
White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) 25
Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis) 3
Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator) 1
Green Snaketail (Ophiogomphus cecilia) 20
Yellow-winged Darter (Sympetrum flaveolum) 8

Green Snaketail
Ophiogomphus cecilia

At the time I was sure I saw an Emperor Dragonfly but subsequent discussions with Sami have told me that it is extremely rare in Finland. The trouble is I hardly gave it a second look as it is a common species in the UK. I wish I had been more thorough at the time.

Male Yellow-winged Darter
Sympetrum flaveolum

Female Yellow-winged Darter
Sympetrum flaveolum

It was fantastic to get film of Green Snaketail and Yellow-winged Darter on the same day.

My next site visited was Katajeneva Toivaka, approximately 2.5 hours north of Helsinki. The target species here was Azure Hawker (Aeshna caerulea). This species is uncommon in Southern Finland and this site was reported to be one of the most reliable sites in the south. This proved to be correct and I quickly located many males, even finding them on the road as you drive to the site. Filming a female took me the best part of three days however.

Male Azure Hawker
Aeshna careulea

Female Azure Hawker
Aeshna careulea

Male Azure Hawker
Aeshna careulea

Note the absence of any pale shoulder stripes in the female and the very pale (nearly invisible on this individual) shoulder stripe on the male.

Stand around for long enough in a pale shirt and the Azure Hawkers think you are a tree.

Looking on pale rocks and trees is absolutely the best way to find this species.

This site also provided my first Bog Hawkers (Aeshna subartica) which are very similar to Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea) which also occurred, and take a while to sort out.

Male Bog Hawker
Aeshna subarctica

Male Bog Hawker
Aeshna subarctica

Male Bog Hawker
Aeshna subarctica

Male Bog Hawker (2nd Individual)
Aeshna subarctica

Male Bog Hawker (3rd Individual)
Aeshna subarctica

Male Common Hawker
Aeshna juncea

Note that the costa (leading edge of the fore-wing) is yellow in Common Hawker as opposed to straw brown coloured in Bog Hawker. Another good feature is the yellow markings (central to each segment) on the abdomen are neat on the Common Hawker but more frilled and larger on the Bog Hawker.

Male Common Hawker
Aeshna juncea

Northern Emerald
Somatochlora arctica

Northern Emerald was seen around the roadside ditches. The male has the diagnostic "earwig" type claspers.

Yellow-spotted Emerald
Somatochlora flavomaculata

Yellow-spotted Emerald was quite common at Katejeneva although it took me while to identify them as the yellow spots are not exactly obvious. The yellow band across top of the abdomen is a good feature (White in Alpine Emerald).









Species seen at Katajeneva Toivaka:

30/7/12

Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) 2
Arctic Bluet (Coenagrion johanssoni) 3
Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis) 3
Azure Hawker (Aeshna caerulea) 20
Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea) 20
Bog Hawker (Aeshna subarctica) 10
Yellow-spotted Emerald (Somatochlora flavomaculata) 10
Northern Emerald (Somatochlora arctica) 10
Black Darter (Sympetrum danae) 5
   Yellow-winged Darter (Sympetrum flaveolum) 3

31/7/12
Northern Damselfly (Coenagrion hastulatum) 2
Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis) 1
Azure Hawker (Aeshna caerulea) 10
Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea) 6
Bog Hawker (Aeshna subarctica) 10
Yellow-spotted Emerald (Somatochlora flavomaculata) 10
Northern Emerald (Somatochlora arctica) 2
Black Darter (Sympetrum danae) 2

1/8/12
Arctic Bluet (Coenagrion johanssoni) 1
Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis) 3
Azure Hawker (Aeshna caerulea) 15
Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea) 6
Bog Hawker (Aeshna subarctica) 2
Yellow-spotted Emerald (Somatochlora flavomaculata) 5
Northern Emerald (Somatochlora arctica) 1
Black Darter (Sympetrum danae) 2

I saw Arctic Bluet at this site but was unable to video it.

Male Black Darter
Sympertum danae

Male Scarce Copper
Lycaena virgaureae

This roadside ditch near Toivaka held the following:


Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa) 6
Northern Damselfly (Coenagrion hastulatum) 4
Common Hawker (Aeshna juncea) 2
Brilliant Emerald (Somatochlora metallica) 2
Black Darter (Sympetrum danae) 10
Yellow-winged Darter (Sympetrum flaveolum) 100

Northern Damselfly in cop
Coenagrion hastulatum

Male Northern Damselfly
Coenagrion hastulatum

Male Northern Damselfly
Coenagrion hastulatum

A lake about 5 kilometres south of Katejaneva Toivaka provided my only Lillypad Whiteface (Leucorrhinia caudalis) of the trip as I was a little late in the season.

Male Lillypad Whiteface 
(Leucorrhinia caudalis)