For the past week, I have been away with my wife Michelle at Land's End, Cornwall which was excellent, but last Monday whilst driving up, I received a message that some Scarce Blue tailed Damselflies had been found at Sandwich Bay, a NEW species for Kent. Whilst this news was indeed very welcome, I had the problem of being over 300 miles away at the other end of the country. I just had to pray that they would stay. Photos appeared throughout the week where up to 5 or 6 had been seen which was encouraging and even mating and ovipositing observed. We arrived back home yesterday where I found out that they had still been seen that day so with some nice sunny weather and light winds forecast for this morning, I thought I would arrive at 08:30 to see whether I could find any at rest in the grasses before they got too active. I arrived in good time and after speaking to Andrew Lipczynski who had made the excellent discovery at Sandwich, I made my way up to the newly formed pools which literally have hardly any vegetation yet but were attracting the male Scarce Blue tailed Damselflies. After getting the camera ready I started walking around and checking the grasses and it wasn't long until a small damselfly was disturbed. A glance through the binoculars revealed my first ever Kent Scarce Blue tailed Damselfly. I could now relax and spent some time checking the id features and taking a few photos. What a stunning little damselfly and in Kent, I still can't quite believe it. I continued on for a couple of hours where I managed to see 6 SCARCE BLUE TAILED DAMSELFLY which included 2 female. I wasn't quite sure whether I would be able to successfully id a female but having had a look in a few books, I was soon able to get my eye in and find two at rest in the grasses. Their overall green colour really made them blend in to their surroundings but with patience, I was able to obtain a few pleasing images which show off well the features. What an amazing morning and always nice to see a new species in Kent. I wonder where they have originated from? Have they come over from the continent and how do they find each other when they arrive. Whatever the answers, they are most welcome and fingers crossed that they manage to emerge next year and start a small but growing colony. A massive well done and congratulations must go to the staff at Sandwich Bay for making this new habitat and clearly demonstrating that if you build, they will come.
Hi Marc,
ReplyDeleteAnother absolutely wonderful post, with accompanying images. Now whilst the id of such insects is bread and butter to you, I would love it if you could post something illustrating the differences between this new Kent visitor and the resident Common Blue-tailed alternative.
As always, wishing you and the family well - Dyl
Many thanks for your visit and comment Dyl, much appreciated. I will try to give a few pointers. Firstly they are a bit smaller and have slightly shorter wings when closed. The pterostigma is shorter compared to the longer ones on Blue tailed. The pronotum is shaped different behind the head which can be hard to see unless zooming in on photos. The males have segment 9 blue which often has 2 small black dots as my photo but this can vary. In Blue tailed segment 9 is all black. The females from what I can make out are a green / brown colour but lack the obvious antehumeral stripes of a female Blue tailed. I hope this helps. Take care.
DeleteWon't go on at length about this one Marc. Just to say great stuff and congratulations to Andrew Lipczynski, and to yourself for the excellent introduction and illustrations regarding this discovery.
ReplyDeleteRegards....Pete.
Many thanks Pete. It's always exciting when a new discovery is made and thanks to Andrew's vigilant eyesight, we now have a new species in Kent. I just hope they can get a foothold and start a new colony. Pretty pleased with the photos and the education of learning about these damselflies. Take care.
DeleteFabulous to hear another species is spreading. Odonata is where it's at!!
ReplyDelete