Europe's Dragonflies: A Field Guide to the Damselflies and Dragonflies

As we see the climate warm and the British weather feels more Meditteranean during the summer, new species of dragonfly and damselfly have begun to be recorded in Britain for the first time. This makes it a great time for Wild Guides to publish a guide for Europe’s Dragonflies.

Wild Guides have developed a reputation for high quality guide books for wildlife (amongst other topics) over the last decade, and have covered several groups previously untouched by field guides. This experience is shown in spades within Europe's Dragonflies: A Field Guide to the Damselflies and Dragonflies. Every species, even those restricted to volcanic lakes on tiny islands, has high quality photos and a full page of descriptions. Similar species are given extra identification resources, such as illustrations of the blue damselflies abdomens or the colour photo plates covering the impressive hawker species. 

Most traditional dragonfly guides have included plates on identifying larva, which this book has done away with, likely a wise decision for a field guide with over 350 pages.

There is also little on habitats and the biology of dragonflies, but again, these are provided by other guides and doesn’t take away from the quality of the book. When trips to Europe are more attainable, this should be in the suitcase of any dragonfly enthusiast.  

Book reviewed by Robert Jaques