Large Red Damselflies in High Street

Jennifer writes:

A few members have reported seeing large red damselflies in the last couple of weeks.

Here is a photo I took of a mating pair that I saw on my pond on the morning of 22 May on a curled up waterlily leaf; the one on the left is the male, brighter than the female.

If you see red damselflies they are almost certainly large red damselflies as the small ones are very rare and not likely to be seen in our part of the country. These large ones are about 5cms (2 inches) long. Please let me know if you see any, most likely on a pond.

The next damselflies we could be seeing at the end of this month are the Banded demoiselles, and a good place to see them is on the edge of the river just upstream of the Millennium footbridge.

Jennifer Hirsh
Naturewatch Insect recorder