Beauty that helps banish the blues...
WHEN the sun shines everything seems a bit more colourful – because it is!
Flowers open up fully, the birds are singing, butterflies flutter by and dragonflies and damselflies look like dabs of bright paint on our wetland canvasses.
It’s a great time to look out for these beautiful insects and, already, I have been lucky enough to spot a banded demoiselle on one of our reserves. The banded demoiselle is my favourite of the Odonata – the name for dragonflies and damselflies – mainly because it helped to spark my interest in nature when I first got this job.
Actually looking at wildlife and beginning to understand the sheer range of beautiful creatures that live on our patch sometimes needs something really special.
The banded demoiselle is that creature. I was standing in a river taking pictures of birds and butterflies when I spotted by first demoiselle, taking in the sun on a piece of foliage.
I took the pictures and downloaded them to get a better view of this stunning blue insect. What I noticed was the big black eyes, the blue-green long and thin body, and the smudge, like a thumbprint, on the wings.
The black smudge is the reason it is called a ‘banded’ demoiselle, so it is easily distinguished from common blue damselflies.
Females have a green body and brown wings. The metallic sheen to its body adds to its appeal giving it a bit of a ‘wet look’ all the time.
In fact you are unlikely to see banded demoiselles away from water bodies, like rivers or lakes.
Unlike other dragonflies and damselflies, the banded demoiselle flutters in flight more like a butterfly, so you should be able to tell the difference between this and other damselflies. It is interesting to see that the banded demoiselle was not common on northwest rivers and lakes until the late nineties and early noughties.
Obviously campaigns to clean up our waters by groups like the Wildlife Trust and the Canals and Rivers Trust have created perfect habitats for the insects and the grubs they feed on.
They definitely prefer clean streams and will bury their nymphs in muddy banks after breeding.
I spotted a banded demoiselle on a grassy nature reserve in Preston last week with no obvious signs of water nearby.
Then I discovered a small ditch with an unpolluted stream running a couple of yards away. So when you are out and about keep an eye out on lilies and other bits of vegetation by the river bank and you may be lucky to see a demoiselle or one of its colourful cousins.
The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside is dedicated to the protection and promotion of the wildlife in Lancashire, seven boroughs of Greater Manchester and four of Merseyside, all lying north of the River Mersey. To become a member of the Trust go to the website at www. lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129.