Best time to see: mid May to end Jul
Key facts
A common damselfly around small ponds
Habitat: smaller, sheltered ponds with plenty of emergent vegetation, including garden ponds; sensitive to pollution
One of the commonest damselflies in Britain and Europe, but absent from highland Scotland
Recognition
Male is blue with narrow blue stripes on top of the thorax and a black U-shaped mark; female is black and green
Usually seen perched on or patrolling round vegetation at the edges of water bodies, or feeding at woodland edges
Fly mainly in June and July, but can be found from May to September in good years
Lifecycle
Females lay many clutches of eggs into floating or submerged plants, usually in tandem with a male
Larvae live among living or dead aquatic vegetation, usually taking one year to develop but sometimes two
Most emerge as adults from mid-May to mid-June, climbing emergent vegetation
© Andy McGeeney
© Andy McGeeney