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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: British damselflies

Three blues

11 Wednesday May 2022

Posted by sconzani in nature

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Azure damselfly, Blue-tailed damselfly, British damselflies, Coenagrion puella, Common blue damselfly, Enallagma cyathigerum, Ischnura elegans, Odonata

After spotting my first damselflies of the year (Large reds) on 21 April, there was quite a lull (probably dull-weather-induced) until any further species appeared. But, on a warmer, sunnier day last week (3 May), all three of the more common blue species appeared together. They are:

220511 azure damselfly

Azure damselfly (Coenagrion puella)

220511 common blue damselfly

Common blue damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)

220511 blue-tailed damselfly

Blue-tailed damselfly (Ischnura elegans)

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Small but large

27 Wednesday Apr 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British damselflies, British odonata, damselfly, Large Red damselfly

Our first odonata of the year are out and flying in the local landscape. I somehow missed seeing any Large red damselflies last year – I’m not sure how that happened – but I saw six in one day at the end of last week so I’ve well and truly made up for last year’s omission. I’m seeing reports of Large reds being spotted all around Britain, so I hope you’ve also managed to have your first odonata fix of the season.

220427 large red damselfly

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E is for Emerald damselfly

10 Friday Dec 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British damselflies, damselfly, Emerald damselfly, Odonata

Seeing this Emerald damselfly was the highlight of my odonata year. I think I need to broaden my horizons to see some new species in 2022.

211210 emerald damselfly

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Emerald damselfly

23 Thursday Sep 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British damselflies, damselfly, Emerald damselfly, Parc Penallta

Last week I met a friend for a walk at Parc Penallta, one of the many colliery spoil sites that have become public parks and that are hot spots for biodiversity. And, as we explored, I was surprised and delighted to find this Emerald damselfly (Lestes sponsa), one I don’t see in my local area. As well as its distinctive colour, this damselfly can be identified by the way it holds its wings at a 45-degree angle to its body when perched.

210923 emerald damsefly

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Finally, odonata

19 Wednesday May 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Azure damselfly, British damselflies, British odonata, Common blue damselfly, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, damselfly

My first damselflies (still no dragonflies) of 2021 have been a long time coming but, finally, yesterday, at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, before a thunderstorm drenched both the insects and me, I saw a small number of both Azure and Common blue damselflies in some of the more sheltered places around the fields … and it was magical!

Azure damselfly

Common blue damselfly

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192/366 Damsels and dragons

10 Friday Jul 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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Blue-tailed damselfly, British damselflies, British dragonflies, Broad-bodied Chaser, Common blue damselfly, Common Darter, Emperor dragonfly

Last summer was so hot and dry that many of the local ponds dried up completely, which may be why I’m not seeing as many damselflies and dragonflies as I have in previous years – perhaps their larvae didn’t survive that dry period. Here are a few I have seen in recent weeks …

200710 blue-tailed damselfly

Blue-tailed damselfly: though the females come in several colour forms, both they and the males, like this one, have the blue spot on their lower abdomen, which is how they got their name.

200710 common blue immature female
200710 common blue male

Common blue damselflies, here an immature female, a male and, below, a pair in classic mating pose.

200710 common blues mating200710 broad-bodied chaser

And the dragons: a glowing female Broad-bodied chaser

200710 common darter

I’ve seen my first two Common darters in recent days, which is late, as they can appear as early as May.

200710 emperor female ovipositing

A female Emperor laying her eggs (ovipositing) under the vegetation of a local pond. Let’s hope that pond retains enough water this year for her offspring to survive the winter months.

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196/365 Ether’s nild

15 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

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#365DaysWild, Blue-tailed damselfly, British damselflies, damselfly, damselfly and devil, Ischnura elegans rufescens

The damselfly and the devil – not a combination I’d have thought of but this, from Paul Evans, Field Notes from the Edge: Journeys through Britain’s secret wilderness (Rider, London, 2015) is fascinating:

In her novel Precious Bane, Mary Webb … used a Shropshire name for damselfly, ether’s nild: the ether or adder’s nild or needle because of its shape and stitching flight. Country lore had it that damselflies hovered over an adder coiled in the heath or bog as lookouts for their venomous master or mistress … Elsewhere called the Devil’s darning-needle, naughty children, scolding women and swearing men were warned that the damselfly would come and sew their eyes and mouths shut if they did not mend their ways.

190715 blue-tailed damselfly

The damselflies in my images are both Blue-tailed damselflies (Ischnura elegans). The females come in five different colour variations – this, with the reddish thorax, is called rufescens.

190715 blue-tailed damselfly rufescens

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157/365 A Banded demoiselle

06 Thursday Jun 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

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#365DaysWild, Banded Demoiselle, British damselflies, damselflies, demoiselle damselflies

190606 Banded demoiselle (2)

I spotted my first Banded demoiselle of the season today. Though they’re usually found near water – around ponds and lakes, alongside slow-flowing streams and languid rivers, this female was perched on some garden shrubs in front of a tower block of flats at Cardiff Bay. The wind was blowing the greenery around so my shots are not very sharp but it was a real delight to see one of these little treasures again.

190606 Banded demoiselle (1)

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139/365 Common and blue

19 Sunday May 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

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#365DaysWild, British butterflies, British damselflies, Common blue, Common blue butterfly, Common blue damselfly, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park

The colour of the day at Cosmeston today was blue: not only did I find numerous Common blue butterflies (I stopped counting at 25) but I also spotted several Common blue damselflies. And here they are …

190519 common blue male

A pristine male Common blue butterfly

190519 common blue female

A no-less-pristine but not as blue Common blue female

190519 damsel common blue male

A male Common blue damselfly

190519 damsel common blue female2

Don’t be fooled by the colour differences here – mature female Common blue damselflies can take three different colour forms: blue, brown (a yellowy orange) and the typical form, which is greenish.

190519 damsel common blue newly emerged male

And, just to confuse things, the males are usually a pinkish-purple when they first emerge and take a few days to acquire their true blue colouring. You can, however, tell they’re males by the solid blue colour of their two bottom abdominal segments.

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112/365 My first damselfly

22 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

≈ 4 Comments

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#365DaysWild, British damselflies, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, damselflies, damselfly, Large Red damselfly, Pyrrhosoma nymphula

Our warm Easter weekend weather has certainly brought out the critters. Today I spotted my first damselfly of 2019, this lovely Large Red (Pyrrhosoma nymphula). Woot!

190422 Large red damselfly

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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