Southern Damselfly in The New Forest.

Apart from the Small Red Damselfly there is another specialist damselfly at Crockford Stream in the New Forest.The Southern Damselfly Coenagrion mercuriale or the Mercury Bluet as it is named in continental Europe is restricted to just a few sites in England and Wales.The New Forest is perhaps its main stronghold in the UK.The name of this Red Data Listed damselfly refers to the 'Mercury' mark on the S2 segment of the male, although this shape can sometimes vary slightly.

The female is normally a dull green with the abdomen mainly black above and blue divisions between the last few segments There is a blue form of the female as shown below in the third photograph.It can be seen that the female has green eyes.