Banded Demoiselles are probably my favourite insects. If I had to choose one species to watch all year, it would be this one.
I can remember seeing them for the first time along the River Nene when I was a kid, but I couldn't work out what the funny black-green-blue butterfly fluttering along the water's surface was. It all makes sense now...
They're beautiful, graceful, common, easy to photograph - but then they do things like this:
female demoiselle eating mayflyThere were a few other insects out and about, too:
Scarce Chaser: so scarce you have to have a license to handle them. We saw 20 today (and 250+ Banded Demoiselles) in less than a kilometre of riverbank vegetation
Hairy Dragonfly
White-legged Damselflyphotos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM. They didn't look this dark in Photoshop...
Nice pictures. I enjoyed this post.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos. These fast flyers can be quite difficult to capture. I envy your variety, too!
ReplyDeleteI first saw these in Denmark while canoe touring on a lake a couple of years ago. Flapping lazily about like fantasy clockwork toys. I thought how exotic and striking they were.
ReplyDeleteI've since seen them on the Leeds-Liverpool canal within the "city limits" of Leeds.
i love this blog! keep up good works...its to be nice if we can know each other, do you think so?
ReplyDeleteThese are spectacular photos. Well done!
ReplyDelete