I shall return to my Scottish wildlife encounters soon,
but meanwhile here is a post about Wales.
It was a warm grey afternoon at WWT Llanelli.
The sun made a few welcome appearances,
and we saw a range of Lepidoptera,
including this Chaser.
but meanwhile here is a post about Wales.
It was a warm grey afternoon at WWT Llanelli.
The sun made a few welcome appearances,
and we saw a range of Lepidoptera,
including this Chaser.
[2]
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtoSOnyA5_niTIwpeO3NH0Wwrt-Ux4s3CV1Huc1lcGWXb7SwH47kKZZ-tNT_meQiRLWqmrnKzATuTb4RjqYBFIvh4FRzcIAfkzYpemhxn-m_5_sxMF4KiXR6dNCQ1fTIBujR5mdhSoaFA/s400/bl_darterdragonflywwtjuly10_8811.jpg)
The photographs above and below [detail and whole dragonfly]
are, I believe, male and female of the same species,
since they seemed to be a pair.
I think they may be Common Darters;
and if so, the top one is the female.
[3]
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkQJ6gCD8aOBYhyphenhyphenrCK9CtzO6te6wDLWGrIwLH7hgXMCOlvQXJ3yTYte7_u3zN0IGRzmDJtipblOHYYa9e8qKNmX7Ywn49FaT9PIk-dm4lIHrKDZaECzzNhoVm_tlyg1Kw2QVHYSFm-2t0/s320/bl_dragonflywwtjuly10_8831.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcEaDqFQ3JKFBG7adE1DiXcQN5siBIKqpGsckCp8nGpBidYbc2rlV10VDHRYI_A7dql1IxloEH_uOih1OQH2WcHQy87EbbpKj2sSiDRZbweUky5w5BPluP-HpnCCjLSFMDNwM6yDMCOk/s400/bl_dragonflywwtjuly10_8831b.jpg)
We also saw these ones:
[4]
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2kzODzzACbL-Ig6JmKkMbVFPC8livMXvMnQliD7iRMy3JmENTlt6T3dnGFJKIPAxiRs0XEMD3HX_okwuv-DtiXvOCrQMXJ3kbbhWksA1A-KJfooDQk68S0wrKRZywtP-294MqVaXg8E/s400/bl_dragonflywwt9041b.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0qHYoLYtw6F1DtOdMf6spc5rQwOBYooLYe1RkfNzBN0_BJnlb8p_i3IqQEux1D8wkrD_6OWL1SnAinRpyrdG0g9gY2yJkDxaNodl2Cadn3WeTd5PUZdpR_dVGbRzC-1D9tvsBEIYDt8/s400/bl_dragonflywwt9051.jpg)
Notice the wings in the shot above.
[6]![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQk7sKXfJv1G5n9zfTexwKzCI-94mxrzmbtuoKWfGD0E9WPmrlyrL-_pjVvg7SeKHuAiUWV-MTtj-f4nVmio_VP_EpTzYB7WK-mfsQX8JkrtCoS4873anLkMRzCRnj44yBYPWLCm87ULM/s400/bl_dragonflywwt9201.jpg)
This Dragonfly was less green and more red.
It may be an immature male Common Darter [Sympetrum striolatum]
It's hard to tell whether there is a yellow stripe along the legs,
but the wing tips are marked with a rusty pterostigma [wing cell or spot].
The yellow stripe was visible in the photo below,
when I viewed it at 80%.
[7]
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-lMaYSYxDThpBb23QQd2Fjtod1-vO-rXxDvx-PdHfw0hd1gKOqQkAk3uNDvBiZxMxDYcOeCXr35elHVXDTdTH0_O_Uj4EqnZMs9H6U3RNdTDdKCFl1mcEHzP8x9KucDN-nDOyhFul4zA/s400/bl_dragonflywwt9311.jpg)
Click to enlarge!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYj-coQQAWWhhQBQW32x2Rgb9lx21StxPHiklbMliqwNnN2IZNG2F8s8GYRmfUf4ED5lR97K76Yv0G9DpoM1u9ESCLrSdY4wwD4NZXrQbQYXOd07tpM1rdaeRLKRvUub_Xw38ydXZ-fks/s400/bl_hawkerdragonflywwtjuly10_8891.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw34LQ5TdKfdou42NBUYNRN8EzrbLHVCe4jbaRN5P3SF8evk6I07gZH88epsgRu2m4gZH8IAJ9KHMgM2SlerwYHaGHfEOHQtCxoDjNjxpWJ6kDUnbOPIFdIJuIP_zJ2mGbjICsfO4yGtk/s400/bl_hawkerdragonflywwtjuly10_8891a.jpg)
My guess is that this is a male
Southern Hawker,
though it may well be a Common Hawker.
The colour is pale turquoise blue,
despite the fact that it looks a bit green here.
∆
N.B. I have tried to give each Dragonfly a number e.g. [1],
regardless of species.
[4] and [5] may be the same creature...
My thanks to David Gill for taking these photographs for me:
my dominant arm is still sling-bound!
Meanwhile, you might enjoy these:
- Earlier [Coastcard] post on Dragonflies
- Earlier [Coastcard] post on Damselflies
- Dragonfly nymph
- Dinefwr Damselflies
Resource:
- Guide to Dragonflies and Damselflies of Britain by Steve Brooks, illustrated by Richard Askew (Natural History Museum Publication)
- Professor P. Brain's blog
- Dragonfly Days [South Wales, UK] - with an excellent Dragonfly Anatomy diagram
- The July-September 2010 edition of Waterlife [WWT] has excellent features on Dragonflies [p.30, p.41 and p.48]
2 comments:
he's right handsome. have a great night.
These dragonfly photos are amazing and so clear. We have installed a larger garden pond this year - though it is still relatively small - and I would love to have a visit from one of these magnificent insects. I live in hope! Do hope your arm is making a good recovery.
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