A PASSION for dragonflies inspired Steve Covey, County Recorder of Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies), to join the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust as a field officer.

And the charity wants to reach out to even more Wiltshire residents by recruiting people such as Steve to promote its work.

“Members are the lifeblood of the Trust, and the more support we have, the more we can look after our environment and all the wonderful creatures that live in it, including my personal obsession, dragonflies,” said Steve.

Dragonflies are an ancient order of insects which has remained virtually unchanged since first appearing. “I love everything about dragonflies, the way they can fly up to 30mph, stop dead and turn on a sixpence; the fact they spend the majority of their lives under water as larvae, only on the wing for a brief instant to breed before dying; and their brilliant colours.

“Surely such marvels are worth helping and with the support of Wiltshire people, we can conserve and increase their habitat, which will help them adapt to climate change,” he said.

The downy emerald dragonfly is one of Steve’s favourites. This insect is a dark metallic green, and tends to be elusive, existing on only six sites in Wiltshire including the Trust’s nature reserves at Lower Moor Farm and Swillbrook Lakes.

It is both locally and nationally scarce and has specific habitat requirements, including a water body with some overhanging trees and an undisturbed bed of the lake or pond, as the larvae live in the leaf litter. The Trust aims to help this insect to thrive by managing its habitat where it appears on reserves, and providing advice where it occurs on private land.

Steve is one of four new field officers who will divide their time between reserves, such as Lower Moor Farm and Langford Lakes where education centres provide facilities for schools and community groups and going out to increase understanding of the Trust’s valuable work. They will be appearing at lots of events and also setting up stalls in shopping centres and big stores.

Projects the Trust is currently investing in include ‘New Life for Chalk Grasslands’ designed to help wildflowers grow once more across Wiltshire’s iconic chalk grasslands.