Seen fluttering near streams in, surprise, May. At the very end of that month, this one landed on the protective glass on Wye bridge, Hereford.
Author: David
Beautiful demoiselles, series 2
Privet flowers
Beautiful demoiselles are damsel flies which can be common near water in the spring. Because they are relatively weak fliers, they can be pictured resting on vegetation, often in bright light.
Two individuals are pictured in this series of pictures. Both are males. The males have a bright shiny turquoise or electric blue body, with wings which can vary in colour from pale brown to a brown so dark it approaches black; or wings similar in colour to the body. Females have a green body.
These two were both spending most of their time warming up shortly after they first appeared for the day, just before noon on one of the hot days at the end of May. They were in the woods near the river Blythe in the Marsh Lane LNR, Hampton in Arden.
Bracket fungus on a tree stump
Flowering nettle with small ladybird
Mahonia buds
Shropshire scene
Elderflower close-up
Bumble bee on gorse flowers
Two snails feeding
Bees on hawthorn flowers
The warm weather at the end of May brought on the flowers – and the insects which feed on them.
A hawthorn hedge was covered with flowers, which were attracting a crowd of honey bees.
The bees had already gathered so much nectar that it looked like they would be overloaded for take-off.
The hawthorn nectar (in the combs on their back legs) is a pale straw colour.