Devon Wildlife Trust The Beautiful demoiselle is a large damselfly that lives on small, fast-flowing rivers, mainly in the west of the country. It is one of only two UK damselflies with obviously coloured wings; the similar-looking Banded demoiselle, however, has distinctive dark patches on its wings. The Beautiful demoiselle is typically on the wing from May to August. It displays a flitting, fluttering flight, which the male uses to attract a female.
How to identify
Male Beautiful demoiselles have dark-coloured wings and metallic blue-green bodies; females have brown wings and green bodies. The Beautiful demoiselle is similar to the Banded Demoiselle, but the males of the latter species have distinctive dark patches in the middle of their wings.
https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/damselflies/beautiful-demoiselle
British Dragonfly Society Large metallic damselfly with fluttering, butterfly-like wings. Male: metallic blue body with dark wings. Female: metallic green-bronze body with translucent pale brown wings.
https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/species/beautiful-demoiselle/
Female and male Beautiful Demoiselles near the Little Dart River, Chulmleigh, photo by Grant Sherman 20th June 2020
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/
Immature male Beautiful Demoiselle near Rock Bridge, Chulmleigh 12th June 2021 Photo: Grant Sherman
Devon Biodiversity Record Centre Submit your sightings of Beautiful Demoiselles and other species in Devon
https://www.dbrc.org.uk/wildlife-sightings/
Male and female Beautiful Demoiselles near the Little Dart River, Chulmleigh, photo by Grant Sherman 24th May 2020
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.
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/NBNSYS0000005616
Wikipedia The beautiful demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) is a European damselfly belonging to the family Calopterygidae. It is often found along fast-flowing waters where it is most at home. The male usually has much more extensive pigmentation on the wings than other Calopteryx species in its range: in the south east of its range (the Balkans and Turkey) the wings are entirely metallic blue while in other areas, there are clear areas at the base and tip of the wing. Immature males show brown wings, as the metallic blue wing color develops only with age. They have metallic blue-green bodies and blue-green eyes.
