This edition of the highly respected and impressively illustrated field guide to Britain’s dragonflies replaces the fifth edition published in 2018. A lot has changed on the local dragonfly scene since then, and the present edition has been significantly revised to reflect this.
The most obvious change is the large number of new photographs which, along with more minor changes to the layout of the text, give the book a fresh and attractive feel. Richard Lewington’s superb drawings do, though, remain as the main illustrations in the species accounts. The species distribution maps have all been updated – some of them, e.g. those for Willow Emerald Damselfly, Southern Migrant Hawker and Norfolk Hawker, having changed quite dramatically since the fifth edition. One additional species is described and illustrated, namely Yellow-spotted Emerald, after a vagrant was discovered in Suffolk in 2018. The status of a number of other species has also been revised to reflect recent changes, including the confirmation of breeding by Scarlet Darter in Dorset during 2025.
Other important changes since the fifth edition include small updates to the introductory sections on dragonfly biology, and to several species accounts, as a result of new knowledge. Discussions of potential confusion species have been updated to reflect changes in phenology that have brought the flight periods of some species closer together. The ‘Regional Guides’ section has been restructured, with the inclusion of additional sites of interest in many regions; there is also better information on site locations and access, including both OS and ‘what3words’ references. By contrast, the section on identification of larvae appears unchanged.
Overall, what has long been considered one of the very best field guides to British dragonflies and damselflies has now become even better. For those whose interest is just beginning, this book is highly recommended. The eight-year gap since the previous edition ensures that there is still a considerable amount of new information that will also be of interest to more experienced observers.