Devon Wildlife Trust The Large red damselfly is a medium-sized damselfly that lives around the edges of ponds, lakes, ditches and canals, and can also be found away from breeding sites in grassland and woodland. The earliest damselfly to emerge in the UK, it is on the wing from the end of April through to August. It is a regular visitor to gardens.

How to identify

Male Large red damselflies are bright red with a black thorax and black bands towards the end of the body. The amount of red and black on the females' abdomens varies, with some forms appearing almost entirely black. The similar Small red damselfly is a much rarer species that is only found on heathlands in the south of England and West Wales. It is smaller, more delicate and has less red than its larger relative. 

https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/damselflies/large-red-damselfly 

 

British Dragonfly Society The most common red Damselfly species. Found in most wetland habitats but avoids fast flowing water. Male: Red abdomen with black markings. Thorax black with red antehumeral stripes. Female: three colour forms ranging from mostly red to mostly black. Small yellow markings. Some colour forms have red antehumeral stripes on the thorax, some have yellow stripes.

https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/species/large-red-damselfly/ 

 

 Male Large Damselfly in our garden pond, Chulmleigh, photo by Grant Sherman 8th May 2024

 

 

Devonshire Association Entomology Section The Entomology Section promotes the study and recording of insects and also spiders in the county.

Meetings, talks, exhibitions, publications and field trips are arranged annually across the county of Devon and are suitable for beginners and experienced alike. Field trips are usually held in association with other specialist groups with whom we maintain close links. We also meet with other sections to demonstrate, and learn, about the inter-relationships with other disciplines.

With at least ten specialists in different Orders within the insect class we cater for a wide range of interests. Some of our Recorders are national experts in their field and hence we are the major collective source of entomological expertise in the county.

https://devonassoc.org.uk/organisation/sections/entomology-section/

 

Devon Biodiversity Record Centre Submit your sightings of Large Red Damselflies and other species in Devon

https://www.dbrc.org.uk/wildlife-sightings/ 

 

British Naturalist's Association Dragonflies and damselflies are both members of the order Odonata. Thre have been 57 species recorded in Britain, made up of 17 damselflies (suborder Zygoptera) and 25 dragonflies (suborder Anisoptera). Of these, 42 species (17 damselflies and 25 dragonflies) are resident breeders, and the remainder are either now extinct species, or vagrants. In addition two species, Southern Skimmer Orthetrum brunneum and Southern Darter Sympetrum meridionale have been recorded in the Channel Islands.

https://bna-naturalists.org/id-guide-dragon-and-damselflies/

 

Buglife is the only organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates. We’re actively working to save Britain’s rarest little animals, everything from bees to beetles, worms to woodlice and jumping spiders to jellyfish.

https://www.buglife.org.uk/ 

 

National Biodiveristy Network The NBN Atlas is a collaborative project that aggregates biodiversity data from multiple sources and makes it available and usable online. It is the UK’s largest collection of freely available biodiversity data.

https://species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNSYS0000005599 

 

Wikipedia The large red damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) is a species of damselflies belonging to the family Coenagrionidae. It is native to the western Palearctic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_red_damselfly 

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