Oldt1mer - Keith's photos with the keyword: Calopteryx splendens

This beauty is the male Banded Demoiselle – Calopteryx splendens – which is a species of Damselfly which flies with fluttering wings similar to a butterfly. The male, as you can see, has broad dark spots across the outer parts of his wings whereas the female has translucent pale green wings. Mainly found near slow flowing streams and rivers the female can lay up to 10 eggs per minute for 45 minutes which is a lot of eggs for such a slim narrow body. This one was spotted landing a number of meters away so is quite a big crop. Happy that the camera and lens did so well. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

This beautiful little creature is a Banded Demoiselle - Calopteryx splendens - which is a species of Damselfly to be seen flitting around the vegetation near slow running water like streams, rivers and canals and lakes where there is plenty of mud. It is interesting that they are very sensitive to pollution so are a good indication of water quality. This is a male, determined by the black patch on the wing whereas the female has a pale green translucent wing with a small white patch near the tip. They feed on insects which are caught on the wing. This one was seen resting in a reed bed, on the outskirts of Martin Mere Wetlands, Burscough, Lancashire. The out of focus patch of yellow you see is the flower of a yellow Iris which loves to grow in damp and wet soil on the edges of waterways etc. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.