FIRST DAMSELFLIES OF THE YEAR

   For the first time this year while I was wandering around Carlton Marshes I noticed Damselflies and Dragonflies, not that many admittedly but it was nice to them all the same. The lack of insect life this spring has really been noticeable and must have made life really difficult for anything that relies on them for food.
   There were two species that were noted in the short time I spent with them today out of the many that occur in this country. These were the Azure Damselfly and the Blue-Tailed Damselfly the easiest to spot being the male Azures which are iridescent blue showing up even without the sunlight each sticking mainly to its own little territory on the lookout for a mate. This has to be done fairly quickly as the life expectancy of a damselfly is only a couple of weeks in its adult winged form whereas its larval form can last between 2-3 months up to more than a year depending on when the eggs are laid and the weather. The photographs below show a male Azure Damselfly, a pair (male clasping female) and finally a Blue-Tailed Damselfly.