Scarce Emerald Damselfly
Lestes dryas
The days of endless pouring rain and relentless strong winds have given me the chance to go back through some of the dragonfly and damselfly shots from last year. One species that was new last year was the Scarce Emerald Damselfly, a very scarce national damselfly that has recently started to colonise north Kent, in particular Cliffe Marshes RSPB reserve. I made a visit to this reserve in July where good number of this species had been seen in a few dykes and with a bit of luck and the sun shining, I was able to see c30 Scarce Emerald Damselflies and obtain a few shots. Quite a few males were seen and one reliable feature to look out for is the pruinescence which covers the first one and a half segments which can be seen in some of the shots, the brighter blue eyes are also noticeable compared to Emerald Damselfly. A number of females were also observed and again a reliable feature I looked out for was the square shaped spots on segment 2, present in the female shot below. I remember it being a very hot day and hopefully a return visit can be penciled in for this year where I can get a few more images and maybe see my first ever Southern Migrant Hawker, still a major rarity in this county.
Male Scarce Emerald Damselfly
Female Scarce Emerald Damselfly
Marc Heath
Female Scarce Emerald Damselfly
Marc Heath
Hello Marc! You've got the new Duchess of Kent ! Good remark concerning the blue pruinscence which recovers only 2/3 of the second segment! And good luck for the Southern Migrant Hawker next year! Greetings, M.
RépondreSupprimerTrès beaux clichés, Marc !
RépondreSupprimerConsidering the rarity indeed of the species in the UK, these pics are simply fantastic!
RépondreSupprimerVery recently I have published about it mentioning how scarce this zygoptera is in your country:
Dryas... on se réchauffe lestement!
I really hope it will colonize Kent and elsewhere strongly!
Here in France we find them more in and around peat bogs... I guess it must be the same for you?
Like Morikan, I sincerely wish you luck with the Southern migrant hawker, I was very lucky in september with this species.