Monday 10 July 2017

Atcham - White-legged Damsellies

The Odonata theme continues... I'm checking out some of Shropshire's residents during July and trying to post informative images to help with ID. Todays special is the White-legged Damselfly and with slow flowing muddy stretches of river a key habitat, the River Severn just downstream of Atcham is good place to see them!

 An immature male, the black markings on the abdomen are not quite complete and he's paler blue.




Adult male with blue coloration and complete black markings on the abdomen...





If you haven't already noticed,White-legged Damselflies have chestnut wing spots!



I'm sure this guy was laughing at me? Showing off his 'inflated tibiae' with white edges.


A very immature female, the lactea phase where the markings on the abdomen are barely developed, just dots on each segment...


Virtually mature, this female has the typical pale yellow-green thorax



Full markings on the abdomen with a touch of drab at the tail end, this will change to green...




Standard ID images can become a little boring so I singled out this obliging male for a bit of macro creativity?

Here's looking at you...





The archetypal 'bug eyed monster'?





If I've whetted your appetite for more? Check out http://shropshirebirder.co.uk/odonata.html for more species and information!