Dragonflies and damselflies are extremely beautiful insects which capture the very essence of summer as they perform their intricate aerobatics around the gleaming backdrop of rivers and pools on hot sunny days. They are reasonably easy to observe and are also important indicators of the health of our wetlands, being top insect predators both as airborne adults & aquatic larvae. For those  with an interest in photographing these insect jewels, August is definately the best month and the Grazalema area itself is stunning at this time of year. Many people avoid the area due to the intense heat of the summer (which may be hovering around the high 30's and low 40's) so  you'll have the countryside pretty much to yourself. The scent of hot pine resin, gum cistus and the baked appearance of the area is quite different from the spring wild flower season just a few months earlier and is an experience in itself.

During a few days visit in August you should expect to see around 15 species of Dragonfly and Damselfly in the area and in some cases you may even be rewarded with upwards of 10 species in just a single location including emperors and goldenrings along with damselflies such as the beautifull copper demoiselle and Iberian blue tails... Nothing beats quietly paddling through a small stream during the intense heat of the summer with the cicadas trilling from the trees and the sun beating down.

You can find out more information on the dragonflies of Iberia at the introduction to Iberian dragonflies over at the Wildside Holidays nature pages and if you would like some help and pointers for the area, such as where to find the best dragonfly spots, just get in touch with us via the "contact us" link at the top of the page and we'll be glad to help out.

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