Five Golden... Ring'ed Dragonflies

James Duncan
, 28 December 2020
Five Golden... Ring'ed Dragonflies
Golden-ringed Dragonfly © Bob Eade

By James Duncan

Learning and Engagement Officer

Could there be a more festive species of Dragonfly than the Golden-ringed, Cordulegaster boltonii - fitting in rather nicely on day five of the 'Twelve Days of Christmas.' Admittedly, if one was to split hairs, the number of 'golden rings' possessed by this magnificent member of the Order Odonata isn't actually five, whilst it certainly won't be spotted within the festive period. It is, however, one of the most strikingly unmistakable Dragonflies to be seen in Sussex. In fact, we're rather lucky to receive the Golden-ringed Dragonfly at all, for it's largely a species of Western Britain. Its distribution across Sussex sees it breeding in acidic running waters, usually within heathland and woodland across the High Weald. Don't, however, be surprised to see this species well away from the water, often hunting low over heather, gorse and bracken. They have a rather useful tendency to perch, particularly when consuming prey, often allowing for a close-up look at their distinctive banded body and piercing green eyes. 

Golden ringed D © Alan Gillham

Golden-ringed Dragonfly © Alan Gillham

With females topping out at over 8cm, the Golden-ringed Dragonfly may even exceed the fearsome Emperor Dragonfly in length. Over 300 million years of ancestral lineage has enabled this aerial overlord powers in flight that'd shame the most advanced of fighter aircraft. Their size and power dictate that smaller dragonflies, damselflies, bees, wasps and beetles all fall prey to its voracious appetite. When not feeding, males will aggressively defend their breeding territories against the intrusion of unwelcome rivals, a clashing spectacle that results in epic displays of acceleration and agility. With calm restored, slow patrols will resume just centimetres above the water's surface with one thing in mind - 'grabbing' a female. Once a suitable prospect has been sighted, males waste little time in using their legs as a 'catching basket', quickly manoeuvring the females into a stable clasping position. Now in 'tandem', copulation will commence once the male has carried her to suitable vegetation. 

Amongst dragonflies, there are typically two methods for egg-laying, or ovipositing. The first involves laying eggs within or atop emergent or floating vegetation, using the blade-like ovipositor to ensure safe storage for the eggs. The second involves the casual flicking of eggs directly into the water, a somewhat haphazard but effective strategy. The Golden-ringed Dragonfly, as the only British member of its genus, does things a little bit differently. The female will assume a position more representative of a pogo-stick and stab her abdomen directly into the sediment, releasing an egg each time. Though not commonly witnessed, it's a fabulous sight to behold. Though egg development occurs rapidly, within weeks, the larvae may spend up to five years underwater, ruthlessly ambushing any aquatic invertebrates that dare to get too close. Once they eventually emerge as adults they'll be on the wing throughout summer, the perfect time to get out into Sussex to observe those golden rings.  

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783120346.85990 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783120346.88580.0259Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783120346.88590.0001Server address: 216.73.216.216
1783120346.8860Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783120346.8860Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/five-golden-ringed-dragonflies
    [s] => five-golden-ringed-dragonflies
    [1] => five-golden-ringed-dragonflies
)
1783120346.88620.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783120346.8870.0008 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783120346.88880.0018 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783120346.88930.0005INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783120346.89090.0017 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22588716
1783120346.89140.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22588716
1783120346.8920.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-03 23:12:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-03 23:12:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783120346.89390.0019 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='five-golden-ringed-dragonflies')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 23:12:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783120346.89620.0023 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783120346.89660.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2408 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 23:12:00'
1783120346.89750.0009 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783120346.89820.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783120346.89880.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=191 LIMIT 1
1783120346.89930.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=49 LIMIT 1
1783120346.89980.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783120346.90010.0003 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783120346.90160.0015 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 23:12:00' AND postSlug='five-golden-ringed-dragonflies'
1783120346.92230.0207Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783120346.92280.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783120346.92430.0015Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783120346.92460.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783120346.92530.0007 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783120346.92630.001 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783120346.92920.0029 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783120346.92960.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783120346.93160.002Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783120346.93160 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783120346.93240.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783120346.93290.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783120346.93590.003 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783120346.9370.0011 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783120346.93780.0008 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783120346.94070.0029 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783120346.94160.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783120346.94360.002 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783120346.94410.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783120346.94430.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='19' LIMIT 1
1783120346.9450.0006Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783120346.94550.0005 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='five-golden-ringed-dragonflies')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 23:12:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783120346.94740.002 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783120346.94780.0004 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783120346.95090.0031Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783120346.95210.0012 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2408 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783120346.99910.047 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783120346.99940.0003Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783120346.99960.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='19' LIMIT 1
1783120347.00020.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783120347.00090.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783120347.00140.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783120347.00350.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783120347.0040.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783120347.00580.0019 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783120347.00660.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783120347.0070.0004 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783120347.00750.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783120347.01050.0029 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783120347.01110.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783120347.01330.0023 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783120347.01540.002 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783120347.01590.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783120347.01630.0004 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783120347.01830.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783120347.01870.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783120347.02040.0017 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783120347.02280.0024 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783120347.02320.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783120347.02360.0004 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783120347.02540.0018 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783120347.02590.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783120347.02760.0017 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783120347.02860.0011Request time: 0.17
1783120347.02870Process time: 0.1697
1783120347.02870Memory: 1.6281