Garden Large Red's.

Since a first sighting of a Large Red Damselfly in Bouldnor Forest on the 8th of April,the weather has been cool and windy.However today the brisk winds have gone and that has allowed the temperatures to rise in the spring sunshine. As a result the first damselfly was observed in my Freshwater garden this morning. This immature male Large Red probably emerged from the pond next door seeking a warm sunny spot.

Our Island Resident Species-Dragonflies(1).

 As far as I am aware the Scarce Chaser Libellula fulva  has been breeding on the Isle of Wight for less than ten years. The preferred habitat is water meadows with slow flowing waterways and sometimes mature ponds as well as fishing lakes with dense marginal vegetation. Any small open stretches are favoured by the males in order to perch on the emergent plants.

 

A common chaser here is the Broad-bodied Chaser. The first adults are seen in April when as immature, the males have the same colouring as females. As they mature males take on a blue abdomen whereas the females remain yellowish-brown. However some very mature females may develop limited pruinosity

The third chaser is of course the Four-spotted Chaser. Although never common on the Island it has made a resurgence recently. Once mainly found  close to Brading Marsh it seems to have spread far and wide and can be encountered in a variety of habitats.  A male even turned up at my garden pond some time ago.

 

Another Broad-bodied Chaser Arrives.

With a change in the weather for the worst since the end of the month of April, species recorded in my garden have been disappointing with only Large Red Damselflies and Broad-bodied Chasers to be seen. Today during a sunny period another immature male Broad-bodied Chaser appeared in the garden close to the pond.When disturbed it flew strongly into the flower border where he landed on the seed pods of our honesty plant.

More Red-eyes.

The Red-eyed Damselfly or Large Red-eyed,as the name suggests, is a slightly bigger and more robust damselfly than its relative the Small Red-eyed Damselfly. Whereas the latter normally appear here at the beginning of July,the Red-eyed can be seen at the start of May.In fact an immature male was spotted at my garden pond on the 29th April this year.

This species is closely associated with floating leaves,typically water-lillies,and they favour large ponds and lakes where this plant grows.On the Isle of Wight the ponds at Stag Lane and Dickson pond which is close by, are good sites.
Both species can be seen in the same locations and can be difficult to tell apart.The following photographs show the Small Red-eyed Damselfly,except the two final images which are of an immature male Red-eyed.

Mature female

Immature male

Immature male

Beautiful Demoiselles at Shalfleet Stream.

Now that the cold and windy weather of April has gone,we are enjoying a period of dry, sunny,and above average temperatures for early May.The dragonflies have responded and today I visited my local stream for the first time this year.I was not disappointed as a walk along the wooded bank of the stream produced six immature Beautiful Demoiselles.Half were males, and they were all easily disturbed which caused them to flutter off to the nearest cover.

The Reds Are First Again

Here on the Isle of Wight the spring weather has at last arrived and the first damselflies are on the wing.The prolonged cold  snap of March and April is now hopefully over and today I was fortunate enough to observe six Large Red Damselflies flutter away from the pond at Clamerkin NT during my brief midday visit.

Not all  newly emerged damselflies fared well as can be seen by the second photograph.

Common Blue Beauty

The Common Blue Damselfly is perhaps as the name implies,the most abundant of our damselflies.It is found in still and flowing water habitats and only seems to shun small ponds.

On the wing from late April to well into September the male is particularly handsome,decked out in an electric blue colour.The female comes in two colour forms,dull green and blue.

One of my favourite damselflies.

                                                            Blue form female

                                                            Green form female                 

Start of the Season

In 2012 at my local pond it is the end of March and despite the look of winter things are starting to grow.

As April begins Large Red Damselflies will be the first to emerge.Depending on temperatures  the Broad-bodied Chaser and the Hairy Dragonfly will soon be seen at the pond.