These insects start life as aquatic nymphs, in ponds, bogs, rivers, streams and lakes, spending up to three years under water, after which they break out of their nymph cases and spend just a few weeks on the wing mating.
Dragonflies and Damselflies are valuable predators, gobbling up small flying pests such as Mosquitoes and Midges.
Dragonflies vary in size, and can be very large indeed, such as the mighty Emperor Dragonfly at approximately 80mm in length, and a wingspan of around 110mm. Not far off the size of a small bird! Smaller one's such as the Black Darter are around 30mm long. Dragonflies rest with their wings open
Damselflies are usually much smaller than Dragonflies, with slender bodies. Damselflies rest with their wings closed. The exception is the Emerald Damselfly, which rests with it's wings open.
Despite their large size, Dragonflies and Damselflies are completely harmless to humans. They are also a valuable food source for many birds, including Sparrows and the bird of prey, The Hobby.
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| Hobby With Dragonfly |
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| Sparrow with Banded Damsel |
I have found the best places to see Dragonflies and Damsels, are heathland bogs and Pools. Some of the larger Damselflies such as the banded Damsel, are best seen alongside slow flowing rivers and streams.
So here is a collection of Dragonflies and Damselflies I have taken over the years. These were all found locally in Dorset. I shall keep adding to this blog, to keep record of all the different species I can find.
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| A Golden Ringed Dragonfly. I took this in 2006 in my Garden, Poole. |
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| Scarce Chaser 2009 At Alder Hills Nature Reserve |
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| Calopteryx virgo - Beautiful Demoiselle Delphwood 2009 |
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| Red Damsel with Prey. Delphwood, May 2010 |
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| Emerald Downy Arne May 2010 |
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| Southern or Migrant Hawker Arne June 2010 |
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| Damselfly Emerging From A Nymph Case, My Pond April 2011 |
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| Red Damsel Drying out after Emerging. |
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| Newly Emerged Red Damsel Macro |
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| Red Damsel Fully Emerged and Ready To Fly. |
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| Red Damsel's Mating Heart. May 2011 Delphwood. |
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| Damselfly Macro. My Pond May 2011 |
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| Four Spotted Chaser in Flight. Morden Bog, May 2011 |
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| Four Spotted Chaser Macro, Arne April 2011 |
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| Four Spotted Chaser. Arne April 2011 |
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| Female Black Tailed Skimmer Longham May 2011 |
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| Male Black Tailed Skimmer Longham Lakes May 2011 |
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| Male Broad Bodied Chaser Badbury Rings May 2011 |
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| Female Broad Bodied Chaser. Badbury Rings May 2011 |
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| Female Broad Bodied Chaser Macro. Badbury Rings May 2011 |
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| Banded Damsel. Stour Valley April 2011 |
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| Azure Damsels Mating. Dunyeats Hill June 2011 |
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| Male Black Tailed Skimmer. Morden Bog July 2011 |
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| Immature Male Black Tailed Skimmer. Dunyeats Hill June 2011 |
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| Female Keeled Skimmer Morden Bog July 2011 |
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| Male Emerald Damsel Morden Bog July 2011 |
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| Emerald Damsel Female. Morden Bog July 2011 |
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| Male Azure Damselfy. Dunyeats Hill June 2011 |
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| Blue Tailed Damsel. Delphwood June 2011 |
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| Emperor Dragonfly Dunyeats Hill July 2011 |
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| Black Darter Dunyeats Hill July 2011 |
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| Female Common Darter Dunyeats, June 2011 |
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| Male Common Darter. Dunyeats Hill July 2011 |
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| Emperor Dragonfly Dunyeats Hill July 2011 |
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| Male Black Keeled Skimmer Dunyeats Hill July 2011 |
Related Links
British Dragonfly Society http://www.british-dragonflies.org.uk/
RSPB Arne http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/a/arne/index.aspx
Dorset For You Heathland Sites http://www.dorsetforyou.com/344550
UK Safari http://www.uksafari.com/dragonflies.htm
