Monday 6 June 2011

Dragon/Damselflies

This post is dedicated to the 40 or so Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies) species you could encounter in the UK. Really love watching the aerial master-craft of the dragonflies as they hawk around the lakes and rivers, but the alertness of these insects does frustrate when trying to get close enough to get photographs. Damselflies unlike dragonflies do allow you to get a little closer but their size means you have to get really close to get a decent photo, but they can be just as frustrating as they back off to the opposite side of the grass stem to stop you getting a picture of identifiable features. But these Odonata species are really worth the effort if you can get some pics as they as they can really show up the colouration and complexities of these insects.
                             Male Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo)
                                 Immature male beautiful demoiselle
                                     Female Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa)
                                     Male Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa)
Male Azure Blue Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
Female Azure Blue Damselfly or a female variable blue ?
Female Azure Blue Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
Mating Azure Blue
Male Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosomma nymphula)
Female Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosomma nymphula)
Female Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosomma nymphula)
Male Blue Tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Female Blue Tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans violacea)
Female Blue Tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans rufescens)
Blue Tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans typica)
Female Blue Tailed Damselfly (Ischnura rufescens-obsoleta)
Blue-tailed Damselflies Mating
Male Common Blue (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Female Common Blue (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Male Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)
Golden-Ringed Dragonfly (Cordulegastor boltonii)
Male Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea)
Migrant Hawker (Aeshna nixta)
Female Migrant Hawker (Aeshna nixta)
Female Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens)
Male Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens)
Female Broad-Bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa)
Emergent Female Broad-Bodied Chaser and exuvia
Female Four Spot Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata)
Male Four Spot Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata)

Male Black-Tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)
Female Black-Tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)
Female Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)
Female Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)
Male Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)
Mating Common Darters








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4 comments:

  1. neil21 June 2011 at 14:05

    Thats a good days odonata!

    Nice pics too

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  2. Unknown22 June 2011 at 03:12

    Thanks for the comment Neil, I wish i got them all in a day, but all taken over the last month, the Emperor had eluded me for over a month since i first saw one. Still got the southern hawker and golden ringed from same site to get photo's of yet.

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  3. neil26 June 2011 at 13:59

    lol I meant to say 'That would be a good days odonata' woops.

    A few species there we don't get here in Essex which are nice to see.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown26 June 2011 at 15:27

    Cheers Neil, had to go back for the second day running to get todays snaps. Spent four hours at Ventongimps Moor yesterday and got 4 new species for the blog but when i went to download the pics off the memory card they were nowhere to be seen, so went back for 2 hours this morning :) so still missing the Ruddy Darter and 4 spot chaser from yesterday and at least 2 species of hawker i saw this morning, but would love to get a snap of the small red damselfly that's supposedly their.

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