Red eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najaz) Nymph

With some sunny weather yesterday morning for a few hours, I decided on another visit to Grove Ferry where the plan was to spend some time dipping with the net to see what species could be found. I really wanted to try to locate some Small Red eyed Damselfly nymphs as I have yet to see one of these but although there are a few distinctive features to note, they can be quite tricky to identify. With this in mind, I spent a couple of hours dipping in a dyke where I noted plenty of adults during last season but with a lack of experience on this species and not that much written about them, I wasn't sure whether I would find them or whether they would be still in the egg stage. Nonetheless, I started to catch quite a few damselflies, mostly Azure and Blue tailed Damselflies but I then got quite lucky when I netted a distinctly larger nymph which I instantly recognised as a Red eyed Damselfly nymph. The small head, longer abdomen and three dark bands on the caudal lamellae all pointed to this species. I had only previously only netted one individual of this species so I put it into the tray with a view to taking it back home for a photographic session in my indoor tank. The next hour produced another 5 Red eyed Damselfly nymphs which was very encouraging and an area I will visit again soon to net again, as well as trying later in the season to see whether I can find an exuviae of this species to add to my collection. I also managed to net 4 Emperor Dragonfly nymphs as well as plenty more damselfly nymphs which were scrutinised to see whether any were Small Red eyed Damselfly nymphs, but I failed to find any likely individuals. As if the session was not already successful, I looked at a few trees overhanging the ditch and was pleased to find a good number of Willow Emerald Damselfly gall marks which was a new area to see them for me. Another area to take more of a look at in the summer months. With the weather forecast not looking good this morning, I spent an hour or so in my conservatory photographing a couple of Red eyed Damselfly nymphs which after a bit of playing around with settings and backgrounds, produced a few useable images. There were later returned back to their original ditch where I collected them from. I would hope for a few more nymph photography sessions in the next few weeks to keep me busy and maybe I will eventually find a Small Red eyed Damselfly if I persevere.

 

 Showing 3 faint dark bands on the Caudal lamellae

 

 Showing small head and long abdomen

 

Red eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas) Nymph