23 Thursday Sep 2021
Posted in insects
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.
19 Wednesday May 2021
Posted in insects
Tags
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
10 Friday Jul 2020
Tags
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 …
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.
Common blue damselflies, here an immature female, a male and, below, a pair in classic mating pose.
And the dragons: a glowing female Broad-bodied chaser
I’ve seen my first two Common darters in recent days, which is late, as they can appear as early as May.
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.
15 Monday Jul 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature
Tags
#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.
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.
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
You must be logged in to post a comment.