Willow Emerald Damselfly.
08th October 2021
The Willow Emerald Damselfly is a very recent colonist to south east England first recorded in the early 2000’s in Suffolk. It is spreading rapidly though and is now also present in Kent, Essex, and Norfolk. It is quite a long damselfly with distinctive features that distinguishes it from the more common Emerald Damselfly. Both male and females have a very long abdomen, pale wing spots with black framing, the males are more overall green.
Male.
The females a more bronzy green with a dark ovipositor.
Female.
Unlike other damselflies they spend nearly all of their time in overhanging bushes of willow and alder in which the female lays her eggs.
Male.
One morning we spent some time at Sculthorpe Moor nature reserve looking for them with no luck unfortunately, and the reserve was mostly restricted anyway, presumably a legacy of ‘Covid 19 ‘ so it was a waste of time really. Later we decided to try our luck at Titchwell Marsh reserve where we have also seen them briefly a couple of years ago and we were glad we did! In the corner of a boardwalk in some overhanging bushes we found several males and females. However, it’s still not easy to get clear shots of these still relatively small and flimsy insects. After a while jockeying for the best photo opportunity and with Common Darter Dragonflies landing on our hands and heads – good fun! I managed to get a couple of record shots of these lovely damselflies.
Pair mating.
A very pleasant couple of hours in glorious warm sunshine.
Male.
The females a more bronzy green with a dark ovipositor.
Female.
Unlike other damselflies they spend nearly all of their time in overhanging bushes of willow and alder in which the female lays her eggs.
Male.
One morning we spent some time at Sculthorpe Moor nature reserve looking for them with no luck unfortunately, and the reserve was mostly restricted anyway, presumably a legacy of ‘Covid 19 ‘ so it was a waste of time really. Later we decided to try our luck at Titchwell Marsh reserve where we have also seen them briefly a couple of years ago and we were glad we did! In the corner of a boardwalk in some overhanging bushes we found several males and females. However, it’s still not easy to get clear shots of these still relatively small and flimsy insects. After a while jockeying for the best photo opportunity and with Common Darter Dragonflies landing on our hands and heads – good fun! I managed to get a couple of record shots of these lovely damselflies.
Pair mating.
A very pleasant couple of hours in glorious warm sunshine.