female
I had a meander around some local boggy heathland yesterday and was pleased to find Emerald Damselflies in good numbers. They have an interesting life cycle metamorphosing from egg to larva to adult in one season after a year diapause as an egg. They prefer shallow brackish water lacking in fish as this cuts down the risk of predation and the larvae then grow more quickly than many other species as they are able to feed at twice the rate. In flight I thought the males were superficially similar to Blue-tailed Damselflies until they come to rest when you can get a good look at them. Further down south we also get the Scarce Emerald (Lestes dryas) and the Southern Emerald (Lestes barbarus), but I won't bore you with the differences!
female
male
female
for comparison male on the left and female on the right
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