You may spot…
Common blue damselfly, Enallagma cyathigerum
One of the most recognised damselflies in the British Isles, the common blue damselfly is about 3cm long and found in watery habitats, such as garden ponds. The male is black and pale blue, while the female is either black and blue or black and dull green. All damselflies have a long abdomen with 10 segments. On the second segment, the male has a mushroom-shaped mark, while the female has a thistle-shaped mark.
When mating, they form a ‘mating wheel’, an awkwardlooking formation in which the male clasps the female by the neck and she bends her body around to his reproductive organs. The eggs hatch into slender, aquatic nymphs with six legs, large eyes and three tail-like gills at the end of their body. They eat aquatic insects, larvae, worms and, occasionally, small fish. They spend one to two years in the water, during which they have several growth (instar) stages, before their final metamorphosis into an adult. They will then live for about two weeks.
Also be on the lookout for…
■ Pipistrelle bats, which will spend this month mating and feeding themselves up ahead of hibernation.
■ Garden spiders, which will mate, before both the male and female die, leaving a sack of fertilised spider eggs to hatch in spring.
■ Ivy bees (above), feeding on ivy flowers or perhaps nesting in lawns.
And don’t miss...
Autumnwatch, which returns for a week on 2-5 November.