Damselflies of Devon..early June sightings.
This is the time of year for damselflies. Similar to dragonflies, but smaller and slimmer, they are beautiful insects…giving us surprising and delightful flashes of vibrant colour along our waterways.
Damselflies generally hold their wings close to their bodies, unlike the larger dragonflies which spread their wings. They eat small insects, mosquitos and flies.
The Emerald Damselfly prefers still water and plenty of vegetation. I saw these damselflies on the banks of a very narrow strip of water running alongside a road towards the village of Cockington, Devon. Clumps of wild flowers and grasses swayed in the breeze on the banks of the brook giving shade to the area.
There were four or five Emeralds of varying colours ranging from glossy emerald to glowing gold.
The Common Blue Damselflies I saw a week earlier on the banks of a brook meandering through Meadfoot Meadows.
Damselflies lay their eggs in plant tissues close to, or under, water. Water that must be kept clean, still and pollutant free.
Both these Devon damselflies are vulnerable. The brook where I saw the Common Blues is usually filled mid-summer with beer cans, used barbecue trays, paper and plastic bags and other such rubbish.
The area where I saw the Emerald Damselflies is fairly safe, being to narrow for dogs to splash about in and is kept clean and rubbish free.
The Cockington WaterMeadow however is not such a good place for these incredible insects…which include in summer the stunning Demoiselle.
Rubbish is not so much a problem here as dogs. Some dogs are allowed by their owners to race through the stream disrupting and disturbing anything that gets in their way.
I have asked if signs could not be put up to explain to dog owners the importance of keeping dogs on a lead at certain times of the year to allow nature to progress in peace, but no response from Trust or council.
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