06 Thursday Jun 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature
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.
19 Sunday May 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature
Tags
#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 …
A pristine male Common blue butterfly
A no-less-pristine but not as blue Common blue female
A male Common blue damselfly
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.
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.
22 Monday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature
Tags
#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!
01 Wednesday Aug 2018
One of the many highlights of my recent walk around Arlington Reservoir in East Sussex with my friend Jill was being able to get quite close to several pairs of Banded demoiselle damselflies (while simultaneously heeding Jill’s warning that if I fell in the stream – actually the Cuckmere River – she wasn’t going to rescue me – ha!).
And actually this was off the main Arlington trail, as there was an old church that looked interesting not far away and we’d headed off down a public footpath towards it.
Although I’ve seen a number of Beautiful demoiselles at my local nature reserves in Wales, I haven’t seen any Banded … and they are such gorgeous creatures, especially the bright blue males when they’re flying. Makes me believe in fairies!
If you’re ever in the area, Arlington is a lovely place for a walk, with colourful and insect-rich wildflower meadows and plenty of birdlife, just the right amount of exercise in its circular walk and a cafe with icecreams at the end.
28 Thursday Jun 2018
Tags
#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Beautiful Demoiselle, British damselflies, Calopteryx Virgo, damselfly, Forest Farm, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Glamorgan Canal
I chose Forest Farm Nature Reserve for my wander on day 28 of #30DaysWild, to take advantage of the large shady trees, and I’m very glad I did because it was another scorcher. As well as the thrill of seeing my very first White-letter hairstreak butterfly (along with many other butterfly species), I was particularly delighted by the Beautiful demoiselle damselflies (Calopteryx virgo). Their iridescent colours sparkled in the dappled sunlight as they flitted back and forth along the old Glamorgan Canal. Fairies!
Beautiful Demoiselle female, showing dark brown wings and white wing spot
Beautiful Demoiselle male, showing dark blue wings and no white wing spot
