Another post in the same veis as the previous Book Club posts, which focussed on the books I use to help me ID species or general reference books I use. This time on Odonata … although each book states dragonflies, they all include damselflies too.

General

• Askew, R.R. – The Dragonflies of Europe – revised edition – 2004 – Harley Books – 308 pp. – Although older than the Dijkstra books (and you can tell – it was first publised in 1987(?)) it is often used as a reference citing in scientific papers because it is a touch more in-depth in the information given. Richly illustrated (not as good as Lewington – see below – though) some of the detailed illustrations are excellent. Out of print.
• Bos, Frank, Marcel Wasscher & Weia Reinboud – Veldgids Libellen – herzine editie, 10e druk – 2022 (1st edition 1997) – KNNV Publishing – 290 pp. – Really nice field guide. In Dutch with a focus on the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands. and Luxembourg) region it does cover some southern European species. A recent addition to by “library”. I still prefer Dijkstra for IDing because the illustrations are just so good. However, there’s a lot of excellent information (maps, bibliography etc.) in this book, which includes Red List data. A great addition for anyone who lives in the Benelux and those who can read Dutch.
• Boudot, Jean-Pierre & Vincent J. Kalkman (eds.) – Atlas of the European dragonflies and damselflies – 2015 – KNNV Publishing – 382 pp. – A bit more of a scientific overview where there is a large list of scientists who describe specific individual species, including notes on conservation. Has a massive bibliography at the end to really help you dig deeper into specific countries/regions etc. if you’d like. Some photos (by Fons Peels) of each species, but not really meant to help you ID. While intersting and in-depth, I’d say more for the completionist. Out of print. Hardcover, in English.
• Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B. & Richard Lewington – Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe – 2014 reprint (2006) – British Wildlife Publishing – 320 pp. – The modern reference work on Odonata … now available in a second edition (see below) … the copy I own of this book is all beat up and heavily used. Stunning, with Lewington illustrations of all species and some photos.
• Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B., Asmus Schröter & Richard Lewington – Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe – second edition – 2020 – Bloomsbury – 336 pp. – An updated version of the above. I havn’t really checked what the updates are. A must buy for any dragonfly enthusiast, as it is absolutely amazing. In my opinion, hands down the best book available to help ID species.
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• Brochard, Christophe, Dick Groenendijk, Ewoud van der Ploeg & Tim Termaat – Fotogids van Larvenhuidjes van Libellen – tweede druk – 2016 (1st edition 2014) – KNNV Publishing – 320 pp. – Companion piece to the previous book. Another stunning photo book on the skins that dragonflies leave behind after they’ve emerged from their larval state. Again, does not cover all of southern Europe’s species, but essential for reference and ID if you want to get deep into Odonata. Hey their skins are quite easy to find, and you can take them with you without harming anything. I’d get this book (or something similar in a different language) over the previous one, if you need to choose between the two, because of that. Out of print. Hardcover.
• Brochard, Christophe & Ewoud van der Ploeg – Fotogids Larven van Libellen – 2014 – KNNV Publishing – 242 pp. – In Dutch … but oh man … a bit specialist, but essential if you want to get a bit deeper into dragonflies. Stunning photos and amazing, in-depth information on dragonflies in their larval stage. Does not include all species in southern Europe. There are English (and French, German and 1 Spanish) books available on the subject, but if you can read Dutch this is excellent. Out of print. Hardcover.
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Spain

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Specific Regions in the Cantabrian Mountains (my area of interest)

• Gainzarain, José Antonio – Atlas de las Libélulas de Álava – 2a edición – 2018 – Diputación Foral de Álava – 166 pp. – In Spanish. This on dragonflies in one of the provinces in País Vasco (the Basque country) by one of the Spanish experts on dragonflies. The ecology is slightly different to where I live, many more dry/hot areas in Álava. However, the book is very well written and given a great overview of what you can potentially find here. The great thing about regional books is that you get a better feeling of where on the scale of common to rare a species is. There’s also better information on the types of habitats that you might find the species in. Not really required if you are just visiting the region, as some of the general books (i.e. Dijkstra) do a good job already. So, more for the completionist.
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Comments

The other books I’m keen on getting are one (or two) by Corbet …
Again, the out of print books can be costly to get a hold of these days.

So … it should be obvious that for Spain there is no book easily available that is not a translation of one of the above. Also, the above are all so good that I’ve not seen the benefit of picking up anything related to Spain in general. There are PDFs for specific regions (e.g. Pais Vasco, Extremadura, Andalucía) you can find on the internet. I do think these regional reports hold value due to the specific requirements habitats need to have for certain species and so a regional overview can really zoom in on suitable locations.

Again, I’ll try and keep this list evergreen …

Final Note

My list of non-reference works includes: Dragonflight and The Dragonfly Diaries … but they are not that great (spoiler if I get around to discussing them).