Excited by red visitor
WE haven’t had much time in the garden this year, because of the rain and organising the Manchester Festival of Nature, or #MFoN.
I am not panicking yet but #MFoN will take place between noon and 4pm on Saturday, June 29, at Heaton Park.
It’s becoming a bit of a whirl but I think it will be worth the hard work with all the major conservation organisations offering some brilliant wild activities for everyone who attends.
Yes, you will be able to learn more about the fabulous wildlife in your garden, local parks and green spaces from people who work out amongst those creatures every day.
And the best way to learn yourself is to get out there too. Your garden is a great place to start any wild adventure and a fine place to learn about nature.
You will meet bugs, bees, butterflies and assorted birds, once you start trying to identify them you will realise just how much diversity you can get in a small – or large – garden.
I have seen at least 10 different types of bee on my insect-friendly flowers this week alone.
Over the weekend, I was planting all sorts of things, cosmos, lavender, courgettes, beetroot and radish.
Then something red flew past my head and landed on a large leaf.
For the first time in my garden there was a beautiful, large red damselfly, which was a bit strange as we don’t have a pond – and I’m sure my neighbours don’t have water features, apart from the rain pouring off the rooftops. This insect was enjoying sunbathing on any large bit of greenery it could find and happily posed for intimate pictures.
The large red is not rare, especially around ponds and rivers. It is the earliest damselfly to emerge in the UK and will have been around since April.
It is a damselfly that doesn’t mind travelling a bit to find food. These insects are good for your garden because they do like to eat smaller bugs.
This is a medium-sized damselfly, growing up to 3.6cm or 1.5 inches, which was about the size of our garden visitor.
They are generally red with black bands but some females may be almost entirely black.
Our guest was a really striking creature.
People often ask what is the difference between damselflies and dragonflies, as they are both in the same family.
Dragonflies tend to be more chunky, but the easiest way to tell the difference is their wings when they are resting on a plant: a dragonfly’s wings will be held at right angles from its body when resting, while the damselfly holds its wings close to its body.
So much excitement in our garden as I made sure my identification of the damselfly was correct.
There will be a lot more of this at Heaton Park at #MFoN, and I bet that I will learn at least one new fact about wildlife while I am there.
If you have any questions about nature, if you want to get involved in conservation or if you just want to take part in some fun activities come along and meet us.
To become a member of the Trust go to the website at www. lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129. For more information about Cheshire Wildlife Trust call 01948 820728 or go to cheshire wildlifetrust.org.uk.