Tuesday 4 June 2013

Downy Emeralds!!

Insect photography precipitated a back problem so I'm generally giving it a miss for 2013. An invitation to check out a private location for Downy Emerald could not be ignored!!

It was clearly 'prime time' with several of them on the wing and conveniently landing occasionally on blossom!

Males with their noticeably club shaped abdomen.......



Female with more parallel sided abdomen.




There were other Damsels on the wing, including Common, Azure and Variable Damselfly.  I've done males extensively in the past so here's an example of female Variable Damselfly.....



Plus female Azure Damselfly to compare and contrast..... Gosh they all look the same!


The pronotum (between head and thorax) is quite distinct between the two species and female Variable has a white 'bridge' between the eyes - easy innit! I'll be adding some close ups in the Odonata pages on the main website in due course......

Here's a menacing male Banded Demoiselle taken nearby feasting on on some little bug.....





That's probably it for this year!