Return to moorhen home page

Return to section index


Image-of-the-Day by Subject


Dragonflies & Damselflies Page 6

Image Taken on 19 May 2022 at 12:36    Image of day on 27 Jun 2022

Damselflies perch with their 4 wings aligned along their backs. Here a female Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly with aligned wings casting a deep shadow.


Ref: 20220627_df3_20220519_1236_013 beautiful demoiselle damselfly female perched on leaf with intense shadow(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 22 May 2020 at 15:07    Image of day on 23 Jun 2020

This female Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly quietly perched giving us a view of the intricate wing veins - now strengthening struts but once used to 'pump-up' the wings in the final stage of metamorphosis.


Ref: 20200623_d73_20200522_1507_093 beautiful demoiselle damselfly female perched on nettle leaf (crop 3)(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 15 Jun 2022 at 11:02    Image of day on 29 Jul 2022

... and here a female with wings misaligned so you can see 3 of the 4 pseudo-pterostigma. 'Pseudo' because they are white rather than the usual dark - in this species (and the Banded Demoiselle) only the females have any mark at this position.


Ref: 20220729_df3_20220615_1102_532 beautiful demoiselle damselfly female with wings slightly offset(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 18 May 2022 at 12:45    Image of day on 27 Jun 2022

Here we catch a male Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly momentarily fluttering his four wings as they sometimes do when perched.


Ref: 20220627_d72_20220518_1245_098 beautiful demoiselle damselfly fluttering wings(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 28 May 2017 at 15:30    Image of day on 23 Jul 2017

An immature male Beautiful Demoiselle (common name of the species) Damselfly. One of a few moving around the site to find the warmest patch.


Ref: 20170723_df3_20170528_1530_135 beautiful demoiselle damselfly immature male(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 26 May 2017 at 14:40    Image of day on 11 Jul 2017

5 days after our first sighting of a Hobby the first Damselfly makes it's entrance - at least 4 of them fluttering delightfully in some sunshine at various places over our patch. They can not be breeding here because they require running water, but they must be breeding fairly close by to see immatures.


Ref: 20170711_df3_20170526_1440_113 beautiful demoiselle damselfly immature male (crop)(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image Taken on 05 Jun 2016 at 16:33    Image of day on 17 Jul 2016

Our first sighting of a Demoiselle Damselfly this year was this immature male 'Beautiful'. Seen a few days later at the more usual north boundary hedge.


Ref: 20160717_df3_20160605_1633_165 beautiful demoiselle damselfly immature male (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 14 Jun 2016 at 15:43    Image of day on 23 Jul 2016

A Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly sunning himself on a nettle leaf.
No chance of getting stung when you have an exo-skeleton!


Ref: 20160723_df3_20160614_1543_007 beautiful demoiselle damselfly immature male on nettle leaf(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image Taken on 26 May 2017 at 14:40    Image of day on 11 Jul 2017

This Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly viewed from the rear looks worthy of the presence on 'Pandora' (the world of James Cameron's movie 'Avatar' if you didn't see it).


Ref: 20170711_df3_20170526_1440_109 beautiful demoiselle damselfly immature male viewed from the rear (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 10 Jun 2016 at 14:47    Image of day on 23 Jul 2016

Our early Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly is apparently the first report this year in Buckinghamshire. An unusual feature of this species in the white speck near the top tip of all 4 wings. Here they are nicely lined up to make a bright patch as the sun catches them.


Ref: 20160723_df3_20160610_1447_183 beautiful demoiselle damselfly immature male with clearly white pseudo-pterostigma (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 05 Jun 2016 at 16:35    Image of day on 17 Jul 2016

Guarding his shadow seen through the leaf, this pristine Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly looks down at us from a high leaf.


Ref: 20160717_df3_20160605_1635_177 beautiful demoiselle damselfly immature male with shadow through leaf (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 19 May 2024 at 12:45    Image of day on 16 Jun 2024

The male Beautiful Demoiselle Damselflies are this year substantially outnumbering the females.
We don't know whether this has any significance.


Ref: 20240616_r70_20240519_1245_185 beautiful demoiselle damselfly male(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 13 Jun 2022 at 12:23    Image of day on 29 Jul 2022

A Few Beautiful Demoiselle Damselflies are still to be found in the middle of warm days. Here a male ...


Ref: 20220729_d72_20220613_1223_031 beautiful demoiselle damselfly male(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 03 Jun 2022 at 10:19    Image of day on 17 Jul 2022

The Beautiful Demoiselle Damselflies are to be found in well separated spots of shelter and sun. There are far fewer than last year when at least 50 spent midday on a south facing stretch of hedge.
We notice that these delicate creatures (in fact Damselflies in general) seem to remain pristine - presumably they do not frequent bramble patch where the prickles tend to damage wing edges.
Here is a male ...


Ref: 20220717_df3_20220603_1019_077 beautiful demoiselle damselfly male(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 20 May 2020 at 12:48    Image of day on 16 Jun 2020

A male Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly perched elegantly on a leaf.


Ref: 20200616_d73_20200520_1248_043 beautiful demoiselle damselfly male(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 09 Jun 2019 at 15:32    Image of day on 24 Jul 2019

On the last sunny day before the rains the Beautiful Demoiselle Damselflies still flutter around us along the sunny walks. This is a male.


Ref: 20190724_df5_20190609_1532_122 beautiful demoiselle damselfly male(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 25 May 2019 at 12:29    Image of day on 29 Jun 2019

The male Beautiful Demoiselle Damselflies have intense blue bodies, and no white dot on the tip of the wings.


Ref: 20190629_df5_20190525_1229_006 beautiful demoiselle damselfly male(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 10 Jun 2017 at 12:51    Image of day on 03 Aug 2017

Both sexes of the Beautiful Demoiselle damselflies are about. This is the male.


Ref: 20170803_df3_20170610_1251_026 beautiful demoiselle damselfly male(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 13 Jun 2018 at 15:49    Image of day on 25 Jul 2018

What we believe to be a MALE Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly. The problem with the ID is that while the band is too wide and diffuse at the edges to be a Banded Demoiselle and the clear section more tinted than expected, the dark diffusion is just not as extensive as a normal 'Beautiful'. The iridescent blue wing veins do seem to be conclusive though. Maybe an immature male, said to have lighter colouring than the mature.


Ref: 20180725_df3_20180613_1549_021 beautiful demoiselle damselfly male (1st of 2018) (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 13 Jun 2018 at 15:49    Image of day on 25 Jul 2018

From another image of the same individual here is the detail of the 'Anal Appendage' used to grip the female (and different for each species) that looks more like that of the 'Beautiful' than the 'Banded'.


Ref: 20180725_df3_20180613_1549_026 beautiful demoiselle damselfly male (1st of 2018) (anal appendage detail)(r+mb id@288).jpg


Backwards

Forwards

 

Comments and requests for image use

To make a comment, ask for information or to request a full resolution image, send us an email including the reference or the date for the image you are interested in.

All initial contacts should be made using the icon below:-

Mail Us