Sunday 21 August 2011

Mythe Pool - Small red eye!

Just outside Tewkesbury, the Mythe Pool is a small fishery where Rob had recently heard news of - then seen, Small Red-eyed Damselfly. First problem it was full of (not surprisingly) fishermen. Second problem, the sun was shining and the only angle you could view the water/lily pads was directly into the light! Strictly record shots then and I was pleasantly surprised to find can actually see enough detail in these images.....

As a perfect comparison, Red-eyed Damselfly were also present, here's an obliging male



Small Red-eyed Damselfly were as the name implies VERY small and the abdomen is significantly narrowed and slightly tapered. The most obvious feature, apart from size is the blue side to segment 8 (black in Red-eyed)



Another one for the list then and it's only a matter of time before these are found in Shropshire. First discovered in Essex as recently as 1999, their rapid spread throughout the UK has been simply phenomenal as they have spread both North and West since. Hmm, I'm driving down the M5 next Friday, if the weather is OK I might just stop again and try to get some decent images - with the light behind me!