Willow Emerald Damselflies.

[Allan.W.]

Apologies for posting a non-butterfly post ,thought some may find this of interest. I,ve posted a few shots of a recent Damselfly colonist ,the Willow Emerald Damselfly which until recently,was a rare migrant,but was found breeding a year or two back at some North Kent coastal sites,and is now being found in several areas of Eastern England. Last year UKB,s Dave Brown found it along the Royal Military canal,on Romney marsh, I had no luck myself last year,but this year have found it in very good numbers ,at last years site ,and several other stretches .
I was lucky enough to have a breeding "group" pointed out to me ,consisting around 14 insects,the females egg-laying into the overhanging Ash branches (which was a surprise,thought it would be Willow ) ,leaving their very distinct laying marks. Ivisited the same tree today ,and managed to find the same branch (nearly ending up in the drink !!) the furthest branch from the bank and at a height of about twelve feet from the water. Regards Allan.W.

Female Willow Emerald.

Male Willow Emerald.

Egg laying Willow Emeralds.

Egg laying Willow Emeralds

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[Padfield]

Amazing pictures, Allan.

I stumbled across this damselfly by chance this summer, in Suffolk (viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4872&start=3004). I will be looking out for gatherings like the ones you have photographed next summer!

Guy

[Allan.W.]

Thanks for the comments Guy,i was very pleased to see these Damsels. The Royal military canal also has another fairly recent colonist ie; Small Red -eyed Damselfly,which is now well established in Britain ,I found two on a large Elm while checking out the White Letters that
occur,and theres also White -Legged. Posted a heavily cropped shot ,showing the paired egg laying patterns on an Ash branch ,something worth looking out for ,this time of year. Regards Allan.W.

[Essex Bertie]

Great photos, Allan.
Lovely group shot. First I've seen on Ash.
The Willow Emerald has spread rapidly through Essex over the past few years and I've seen it use Willow and Elm. Also saw it on the Norfolk Broads for the first time this September. I've heard it's been recorded in Hertfordshire.

[peterc]

That's right, Bertie.

In east Hertfordshire like the Amwell NR and the RSPB Rye Meads NR although there appears to be no records in the county from last year. 2017.

ATB

Peter

[Allan.W.]

Thanks for the Comments Bertie,as you say they are turning up all over ,since first being recorded ..... Good to see . One of our local dragonfly experts ,actually photographed WE,s laying on (believe it or not ! ) Nettle stalks ! and also showed a photo of a cross pairing between Willow Emerald and Common Emerald !!
Regards Allan.W.

[Allan.W.]

A footnote to the above entry ,the pictures mentioned are to be found on an excellent blog " Marc Heath wildlife photography "
absolutely stunning Dragonfly (and other ) pictures ,by a very knowledgable dragonfly enthusiast !
Regards Allan.W.