Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly

Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly

Often confused for a dragonfly, these giants of the damselfly world are hard to miss with their metallic blue and green colours.

The are many different varieties that commonly get mistaken for dragonflys, but with a keen eye you can spot the difference by the shape of their wings.

In the UK there are around 21 different types of damselfies and they are fantastic to watch them fluttering past, when relaxing near lakes, open water sources.

Males wait on riverbanks waiting for females and use their fluttering flight as a courtship display.
You can see a larger than life sculpture of the female Beautiful Demoiselle at the North Yorkshire Waterpark.
Damselflies wings are both the same size and shape, which taper where they attach to the body. Dragonflies, have different shaped fore and hind wings.