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LARGE
RED DAMSELFLY Pyrrhosoma nymphula
Occurs at ponds, canals,
ditches and acid bogs.
Red and black markings,
with black legs, which distinguish it from the Small Red Damselfly.
Also the Small Red
Damselfly is at its name suggests, smaller than the Large.
There are three colour
forms of female, varying in the amount of black on the abdomen.
Can be seen from the second half of May to the first half of
July.
Photo:
©
Iris Newbery
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BLUE-TAILED
DAMSELFLY
Ischnura elegans Female.
Breeds in ponds, lakes and
slow-flowing water.
Females can have a blue thorax,
green, orange or violet, whilst the males have only the blue.
Both males and females have bright
blue at segment 8.
The Blue-tailed is one of the
commonest damselflies in Britain. The
flight season extends from May to
September and although some individuals may live for 7-8
weeks, the average survival time for the adult insect is about ten
days.
Photo:
©
Iris Newbery |
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Azure Damselfly.
Coenagrion puella
Prefers smaller,
sheltered ponds, including garden ponds.
Identified by the black
U-shaped mark at the end of the abdominal segment 2 in the males.
Can be seen from mid May
until late August.
Photo:
© Iris Newbery |
AZURE DAMSELFLY
Coenagrion puella
Pair mating in wheel
position
Photo:
©
Ron Andrews |
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BROAD-BODIED
CHASER
Libellula depressa
Male (left), Female (right).
Likes garden ponds, small open ponds
and ditches, but will also breed in well-vegetated brackish water.
A bulky dragonfly with a broad,
flattened abdomen, in males pale blue (yellowish-brown in females)
Has brown markings at the base of the
wings.
Flight period from mid May until
early August.
Photos:
© Iris Newbery |
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BLACK-TAILED SKIMMER
Orthetrum cancellatum.
Male resting on stone on
Hainault Lake
Breeds in lakes and slow
rivers and sometimes in marshes and small ponds.
Has clear wings and
the black-tipped blue abdomen
(in males)
is distinctive. Females have a yellow
abdomen with two prominent longitudinal black bands on the upper
surface. Can be seen from late May to
July. Flight season lasts until early August.
Photo:
© Ron Andrews
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EMPEROR DRAGONFLY
Anax imperator
Female egg laying in
Roe's Well.
Likes woodland ponds,
lakes and canals
Flight period from
late May until
mid August.
Photo:
©
Ron Andrews |
