Day 19 #30DaysWildCreativity: A Dazzle of Damselflies

This collage was made in response to Dr Miriam Darlington's #30DaysWildCreativity meme on the theme of the reciprocal relationship we have with nature. The idea was not (necessarily) to write about feeding the birds or planting vegetables but to tap into something that represented what we had done to connect with an aspect of the natural world. 

After a difficult spell I found myself drawn back and back, with camera and binoculars, to the WWT centre at Llanelli in South Wales. I became increasingly aware of the variety of 'damsels and dragons' that could be found on the bushes and at the edge of the scrapes on the reserve. I was keen to see how many species I could spot on each visit; and the more I looked for odonata, the more I became intrigued by the damselflies with their slim bodies, beautiful markings and shimmering iridescence. 

I don't recall seeing any Demoiselles on the WWT reserve, but these majestic insects remain a particular favourite to this day. It was not just the physical features of the Llanelli damselflies that made me want to photograph them: it was their eyes. Now, I don't want to enter the realms of anthropomorphism or speculation here, but I think you may agree that to peer into the eyes of a damselfly is like opening a window on a very distant past. 

 * * * 

My photos in the collage were taken in various places, some at WWT Llanelli and other locations in South Wales, some in Suffolk and one in Norfolk.

A Day at NT Wicken Fen (Opening Day of Chris Packham's UK BioBlitz)

Small red-eyed Damselfly*, one of the first insects we saw on arrival

We arrived at NT Wicken Fen on the first day of Chris Packham's UK BioBlitz at the site. There was quite a buzz, and although the BioBlitz did not begin until the late afternoon, we were able to do a couple of 15 minute Butterfly Conservation 'Big Butterfly Count' surveys in advance of the main proceedings.

I'm glad to report that when the time came for the start of the Wicken Fen BioBlitz, David and I kickstarted the count with our sightings of a Water Vole and a Banded Demoiselle. Yay!

We had also seen a Grass Snake, but, alas, before the opening of the proceedings so it could not be counted.

My first 'Big Butterfly Count' surveys, lasting for 15 minutes, produced the following results:
 

Sadly the following species did not show up during either of my counts, though we saw a couple of Blues on the wing during the afternoon (hard to ID) and one or two Red Admirals:

• Comma
• Painted Lady
• Small Tortoiseshell
• Red Admiral
• Peacock
• Common Blue
• Holly Blue
• Silver Y Moth
• Six-spot Burnet Moth

I plan to do more surveys over the next few weeks. 

Our butterfly surveys complete (and these were separate from the BioBlitz), we kept an eye out for other species. By this time the BioBlitz had begun and I was delighted to see my first Banded Demoiselle of the season. Sadly the Water Vole was too fast for us to catch on camera though we enjoyed hearing it munching away before the telltale 'plop' that preceded its brief appearance.

Demoiselle, Wicken Fen, 21 July 2018

The kind members of NT/Bioblitz staff posed for me in the photo below, after recording our two sightings. By now their list will be looking pretty full!

 And here's David (Gill) standing outside the BioBlitz Recording Centre.

Earlier in the day David had managed to get a photo of the Grass Snake ... You really need to see the photo on a large screen to be convinced, but it is there in the centre of the photo, moving horizontally across the lode to the left, just behind a horizontal reed.

What a great day, and we wish everyone at Wicken another terrific day tomorrow when Chris Packham will be on site for part of the day.

* My thanks to Conehead for alerting me to the fact that this is the Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

Flatford RSPB Wildlife Garden - Birds and Bees (and Biodiversity)

Flatford, on the River Stour

We visited Flatford at the weekend, with its RSPB Wildlife Garden and NT tearoom - not forgetting all the buildings and scenes that are linked to Constable, of course.

We saw these rather attractive bee bungalows ...

... which, as you can see, had already been put ot good use by masonry bees, and had therefore been withdrawn from sale.

It was rather grey, but mild enough (at last) for numerous insects to emerge. I think the butterfly below is a Green-veined White.

It was a joy to see my first damselflies of 2016 ...

They were hiding in the umbelliferous foliage by the riverbank. 

It is always a particular delight to see a Demoiselle - female Banded Demoiselle, in this case.

I have been waiting patiently for my first caterpillar sighting of the year - and here it is, the impressive Drinker-moth larva ...

I saw a couple of Ladybirds mating (for another post, perhaps), and these creatures below ...

It was also the day on which a huge number of Mayfly larvae had hatched, so the short-lived adults were busy leaping up and down in the air and 'making hay' while the sun shone over their short adult lives. 

We kept an eye out for other creatures. There was a nest of Blue tits, but it seemed very much to be the day of the insects. Oh, and I mustn't forget this creature, lurking in the border ...

The photo below shows Willy Lott's cottage and the iconic bridge. It also shows people (like us!) enjoying scones and cream and coffee cake by the Stour.

The wildflowers were magnificent and doubtless a key factor in the biodiversity we observed during the course of a casual afternoon. We also heard our first Cuckoo of the season.

And don't forget, it will be National Insect Week in a month's time ...

Odonata: Banded Demoiselles

We had fun watching about twenty of these eye-catching insects as they flitted about along the River Lark in rural Suffolk. I have never seen so many at once. The ones in the photos are males. The female of the species looks (in my opinion) more like the usual damselfly. 

Dragonflies and Damselflies ~ Beautiful Demoiselle at Snape

I finally saw my first Demoiselle of 2013 yesterday at Snape Maltings. It caught me by surprise as it rose above the reedbeds, and I failed to catch it on camera. This is a (male) Beautiful Demoiselle, rather than a Banded one ... and it even features on a new postage stamp from Jersey!

The photos in this post were taken on a previous occasion, but Demoiselles - a kind of Damselfly - are so particularly striking with their iridescent colours that I thought a picture would be good.

I saw my first Demoiselle of 2010 on 12 June, so this gives an indication that summer is late this year ... but if you live in the UK, you don't need me to tell you this (how strange to be writing these words on what is officially the hottest day of the year!). In 2011 I spotted Demoiselles on 23 May. I have a feeling I may not have seen any in 2012: perhaps we were just too busy settling into our new home.

The British Dragonfly Society celebrates 30 years this July ... and National Dragonfly Week begins on Saturday.

Odonata (5): Beautiful Demoiselles and other Damselflies, Llandeilo

The weather was unpromising, but we had a few patches here and there of watery sunshine. There were far fewer Damselflies about than on our previous visit, but this may have been due to the blustery conditions.

We recalled seeing a Beautiful Demoiselle on the nettles a year ago, and wondered whether one might appear. We did not have to wait long before a male caught our eye, with his iridescent wings  ...

Beautiful Demoiselle (male) Calopteryx virgo

I failed to catch a photo with the wings outstretched ...

Just as we were preparing to head back to the car, our eyes alighted on this magnificent, shiny creature ... a female Beautiful Demoiselle. She flitted between the Rhododendron and the fronds of bracken.
 

This male Blue-tailed Damselfly perched on some new woodwork.

The Stinging Nettles were alive with Green Nettle Weevils (Phyllobius viridiaeris).

The Cardinal Beetle preferred the Hawthorn. 

I found an interesting post about the Cardinal Beetle here; and although this one was seen in Wales, it is of the red-headed variety. 

• Previous Beautiful Demoiselle post (and bit on iridescence), showing that I saw my first one last year on 12 June 2010.
• You can see David's Demoiselle photos (May 2011) here (male, wings outstretched) and here (female), at his Swansea Bay View blog.

Demoiselles (1): Black and Blue!

Beautiful Demoiselle on stinging nettles

I have been looking at Dragonflies and Damselflies.
Today the Demoiselle comes under my spotlight.

The photograph above was taken in Llandeilo, Wales, UK, on 12 June 2010.
I thought I had missed the creature altogether,
so although this photo isn't great,
it was a bonus.

I had already failed to photograph a different one,
flitting through the stinging nettles
at the edge of the Guardian Hay Festival site in May.

The Demoiselle in the photograph above was seen
at Dunster in Somerset back in July 2005,
in very close proximity to a large Slow Worm -
yet another creature to escape my lens.

I have blown it up to a ridiculous size below,
just for the colours.

The photo below
gives a reasonable overall impression of this exquisite
and iridescent species.

I think this creature above may be a male
Beautiful Demoiselle.

Demoiselles are in fact Damselflies.
We have two varieties in the UK:

the Beautiful Demioselle [Calopteryx virgo]

and

the Banded demoiselle [Calopteryx splendens],

which has less hairy legs!
The latter frequents slow-running waterways.

Demoiselles display colourful courtship rituals.
The Banded Demoiselle has deep blue areas on each wing,
and it is these that transmit signals to the female.

It is worth pausing to consider the matter of iridescence.
The play and quality of light at a given moment effects the colours registered by our eyes.
The 'Explore' section of the July-September 2010 WWT Waterlife magazine
has a helpful feature in its kids' zone on p.42,
explaining how the iridescence factor
effects the colours we associate
with that other iridescent icon,
the Kingfisher.

• Odonata under threat [April 2008]: The Daily Mail
• Banded Demoiselle on the BBC site
• Biological Records Centre: Demoiselle Fact File
• Demoiselles on binocularface
• Iridescence on physics.org

STOP PRESS

• Details of a Swansea University conference about the protein source from insects that could be exploited (and a new insect treatment for MRSA - not for the faint-hearted!)