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

Butterflies

This post is dedicated to the 60 or so species you could expect to see in British Isles. Here are few species to begin with and i will hopefully be able to add further species to the list as the year progresses.

                                          Red Admiral (Vanessa atlanta)

                                      Red Admiral showing its underwings

                                             Peacock  (Iniachis oi)

                                            Peacock  (Iniachis oi)

                                           Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)

                                          Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

Comma (Polygonia c-album)

Comma, note the characteristic white comma mark on the underside of the wings.

Dark Green Fritillary (Argynnis aglaja)

Dark Green Fritillary, note the lack of rust colour spots on underside of wing, which helps to separate this species from the rare High Brown Fritillary (Argynnis adippe).

 Speckled Wood    (Pararge aegeria)

      Small Copper   (Lycaena phlaeas)

     Small Copper   (Lycaena phlaeas)

Wall  (Lasiommata megera)

Male Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)

Male Gatekeeper (P tithonus)

Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages)

Large Skipper (Ochlodes venatus)

Male Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)

 Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)

Male Meadow Brown (maniola jurtina) 

Male Meadow Brown (M jurtina)

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)

Male Orange Tip (Anthocaris cardamines)

Female Orange Tip (Anthocaris cardamines)

Green Veined White (Artogeia napi)

Green Veined White (Artogeia napi)

Green Veined White (Artogeia napi)

Common Blue Male (Polyommatus icarus)

Female Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) 

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) 

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) 

Male Silver Studded Blue (Plebejus argus)

Female Silver Studded Blue (Plebejus argus)

 Silver Studded Blue showing silvery/blue wing spots