Book Review - Europe's Dragonflies - A Field Guide to the Damselflies and Dragonflies - Princeton University Press

       The Wild Guides series has produced an array of high quality field guides over many years, and this guide to the dragonflies of Europe is no exception. Like all modern guides, it benefits greatly from the advent of digital photography and the consequent availability of many outstanding pictures.

     One would be hard pressed to find two more qualified authors for a work on odenates. Dave Smallshire is a renowned British dragonfly expert, and Andy Swash is a prolific writer who is well qualified to expound on many taxa. The work they have produced sets a high standard for this type of guide, all done without excessive use of technical terms.

     Its primary objective is to act as a field guide for the dragonfly enthusiast to take into the field, and it acts as an indispensable tool for that purpose. It is filled with information about odenates, however, and for anyone wishing to expand beyond mere identification, a wealth of knowledge is provided.

     There are only 140 regularly-occurring species in the order Odenata in Europe, 47 of which are damselflies (Zygoptera) and 93 are dragonflies (Anisoptera). Thus, it is very possible for a disciplined observer, with a travel budget on hand, to observe and correctly identify all of them.

     Detailed distribution maps are a key feature of this guide, and reflect up-to-the-minute knowledge of the locations where different species may be found. 

     Many photographs are used for each species; males and females are covered, and key features are highlighted with arrows and a descriptive note. 

     An excellent glossary is provided.

     As everyone who keenly pursues dragonflies knows, some of the characters need to clinch identification, are only accessible by capturing the insect. Differences in claspers, secondary genitalia, female genital plates and other esoteric details differentiate one species from a virtually identical other. These characters are extremely difficult to detect by pure observation of the organism in the field, although specialized binoculars designed for butterfly and dragonfly viewing have made the task easier in recent years.

     Few observers are willing to capture their quarry (in fact I know of none) since it often involves the demise of the individual, and field observation skills are constantly being honed.

     Notes are provided on conservation and legislation and a wonderful checklist is included at the end of the book.

     The degree of scholarship and the first class presentation of both facts and images combine to make this work a highly desirable addition to the library of every odenate enthusiast.

Europe's Dragonflies: A field guide to the damselflies and dragonflies

Dave Smallshire and Andy Swash

US$29.95 - £25.00 - 9780691168951 - over 1,200 colour photographs - 360 pages - 5.87 in. x 8.25 in.

Publication date: 14 July 2020