Emerald Damselfly

Emerald Damselfly by Peter Orchard
Emerald Damselfly, a photo by Peter Orchard on Flickr.

With a distinctive bright band around the tail the emerald damselfly can easily be dismissed as a blue-tailed damselfly as the emerald green colouring really shows up best in good light. However, the best distinguishing feature is that the emerald rests with its wings at 45 degrees to its body rather than along its back.
The emerald damselfly is not uncommon in Britain but it does tend to favour shallow water and is very tollerant of acidic bog pools so it is on the damper areas of Dorset heathland that you will most frequently encounter them. They are also quite able to survive in sites that dry out in late summer as it over winters as an egg rather than a larvae.
The emerald damselfly can be seen from May right through until October but are most common in August and September.
www.natureofdorset.co.uk/species/emerald-damselfly

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