Winnie the Pooh sitting on a rock in the middle of a river on a sunny day, watching a dragonfly.
I've enjoyed #libellente. I look forward to a summer of watching #dragonflies and then in December to my annual #DragonflyAdventCalendar (1 December until the 25th).
It's been fun. Thanks for running it. I'll have to make extra efforts for the #DragonflyAdventCalendar in December!
An illustration from The House At Pooh Corner of a moment when Pooh decides to sit in the sun on a stone in the river. Although not mentioned in the text of the book, in the picture he is clearly watching a dragonfly which appears to be making a display flight. This is very likely to be a Banded Demoiselle although Beautiful Demoiselle is also found in that part of Sussex.
A bonus day 25 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. I always end with this - E H Shepard's drawing of one of history's most famous dragonfly surveyors observing a Banded Demoiselle. Happy Christmas & happy dragonfly-watching in 2026. #DragonflyAdventCalendar @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
A dragonfly sits on a metal rail. Its eyes are brown in the upper half and green-ish lower down. The side of its thorax has broad yellow patches. Its abdomen is an orange-ish red colour. We can just about make out pale stripes along the length of each leg, which this species has (and so do some other darters) but Ruddy Darter does not.
Day 24 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Common Darter is the commonest dragonfly of late summer and especially autumn. My last one this year was in November! This one from Paris in August. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
A red dragonfly sits on a plant stem. The grass behind it is all dried up and dead. The dragonfly has brown eyes and thorax and some black markings near the end of the red abdomen. The legs are black. On top of the thorax is a t-shaped marking which can be a useful ID feature.
Day 23 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Ruddy Darter is one of two common red dragonflies in the UK. This one was in Essex in July. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
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A long, thin, blue & black insect among dead-looking leaves. The blue stripes on top of the thorax are very broad, a distinctive feature of this species.
Extra bonus on day 22 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Realised I'd forgotten to include our most familiar species, Common Blue Damselfly. So you get a bonus image. Often seen in large numbers by lakes. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife
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A long, thin, metallic green insect sits on a plant stem. It has blue eyes and powdery blue segments at the top and end of its abdomen. The wings are held out at about 60 degrees to the body, more like a dragonfly than the usual wings-folded pose of a damselfly.
Day 22 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Common Emerald is our only widespread green damselfly, although Willow Emerald (day 18) is gradually catching up. At Whixall Moss, Wales, in late June. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
A small dragonfly among blades of grass. It has a mainly-yellow abdomen and pale brown thorax and eyes. There is a dark triangle on the thorax and the sides of the abdomen are black. The wings are clear and rather shiny.
Day 21 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. The male Black Darter is black when mature, but this one had only just emerged so had colours more like a female. At Whixall Moss, Wales, in late June. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
Two damselflies clinging to a reed and to each other. The blue male has grabbed the female with the tip of his abdomen, at the top of her thorax behind the head. The green female has attached the underside of the tip of her abdomen to the underside of the front end of the male's abdomen. This is where the actual mating happens.
Day 20 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Blue-tailed Damselfly is very common and relatively tolerant of poor water quality so you'll find them everywhere. This is a mating pair. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
A sculpture of friendly-looking dragonfly, made of coloured wire. The large eyes, green thorax and blue abdomen are fairly accurate, although the eyes are really on the sides of the head not facing forwards as shown here. The smile that has been added to the face is entirely imaginary - dragonflies use their mouths to catch and eat smaller insects, not to smile.
Since day 19 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar is Emperor Dragonfly, here's a bonus image - the wonderful wire sculpture at WWT Llanelli for their #dragonfly festival in the summer. #DragonflyAdventCalendar @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
A dragonfly stands on vegetation floating on the surface of a lake. Her thorax is a greenish-brown (males would be bright green) and her abdomen mainly blue. The tail end of her abdomen curves down so that the tip is under the surface - she is placing eggs into the tangle of floating vegetation.
Day 19 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Emperor Dragonfly is the big blue & green species that hovers over large ponds like a helicopter, bullying the others out of the way. This is a female laying eggs. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
A long, thin, green insect with long wings sits on a twig. It is a damselfly, but holds its wings open and out to the side rather than folded over its body. The wider family of damselflies it belongs to are called Spreadwings due to this behaviour.
Day 18 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Willow Emerald is the largest, slimmest and second most widespread of our 4 Emerald Damselfly species. This is a Parisian one seen in August. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
A blue and black damselfly sits on a large leaf in strong sunlight, casting a shadow. The blue stripes on top of the thorax are broken, not solid lines, which is the clearest ID feature for males.
Day 17 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Variable Damselfly looks very like the common Azure damsel but is much more sparsely distributed. This one near RSPB Ham Wall, Somerset, in July. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife
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A medium-sized dragonfly sits at the top of a dead plant stem. It has blue eyes, a black thorax and a blue abdomen. With males, the eye colour is the best way to tell them from the commoner Black-tailed Skimmer (which has green eyes). Lower down the same stem is a larger pale brown dragonfly with green eyes.
Day 16 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Scarce Chaser (top) likes rivers & is less scarce than it used to be, probably due to better water quality. RSPB Strumpshaw Fen, June. Its friend is a Norfolk Hawker. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife
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A damselfly sitting on a twig. Behind it is green pond water, out of focus. The damselfly is blue, its abdomen having pointy black markings on top. If the photo showed the top of the abdomen clearer we would see a marking on the first large segment behind the thorax, which on Common Blue is a blob and on Azure Damsel is a u-shape. On this damselfly the marking is a bit like a goblet, hence the name.
Day 15 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. My only lifer of the year, Goblet-marked Damselfly, a close relative of our Common Blue. Waited years to see one, then saw 2 this year, Paris in July & Rome in Sept. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife
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A pink/purple dragonfly sits on top of a dead plant stem. Behind it is a lake, out of focus. Its eye are red and it has red veins towards the front of each wing.
Day 14 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. The 3rd Sunday of Advent so we have a pink dragonfly. Violet Dropwing is an African species which has spread through Southern Europe. This one in Rome in September. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife
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If you like the #dragonflies on the #DragonflyAdventCalendar why not consider joining the British Dragonfly Society, @britishdragonflies.bsky.social which costs £25 a year in the UK, slightly more elsewhere due to postage costs on the magazine. british-dragonflies.org.uk/membership/m...
A large damselfly sits on a leaf. It's the size of a dragonfly but has the thin abdomen and folded wings of a damselfly. Its body is metallic green. Its wings are clear at the tip and over the inner half, but have a large dark patch which is used to display to females in flight.
Day 13 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. My favourite species, Banded Demoiselle. At Goring by the Thames in early June. Males make beautiful display flights over slow rivers & streams. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social
A small, needle-shaped insect sits on a leaf. It has pale blue eyes. Its abdomen is mainly a blueish white colour, with black at the tail end. The thorax is black with very pale blue stripes.
Day 12 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. White-legged Damselfly lives in slow-flowing rivers. This one was by the Thames at Goring in June. When mature he'll be pale blue. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social
An insect sits on a nettle leaf. It looks like a dragonfly, although technically it's a large damselfly. Its head, thorax and abdomen are all iridescent green. Its wings are very dark, almost black, with paler coloured veins visible where they catch the sunlight.
Day 11 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. The very appropriately named Beautiful Demoiselle. Males use their coloured wings in display flights to impress females. Photo on the River Ray, Swindon, in early July. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
A dragonfly sits on the leaf of a bog plant. It is pale blue all over, eyes, thorax and abdomen. The pale blue thorax isn't seen in UK individuals so it isn't a reliable ID feature - the blue eyes rather than the green of Black-tailed Skimmer are more reliable.
Day 10 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Keeled Skimmer is a common species of bogs in the UK. This one was in Rome in September; individuals there have a blue thorax which would be brown here. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
Two damselflies among blades of grass. The male is red and has grasped the top of the female's thorax with the tip of his abdomen with a view to mating. The female is the all-black form - some females are coloured similarly to males and others are intermediate.
Day 9 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Small Red Damselfly specialises in boggy areas. Males are red, females have varying proportions of red and black. Photo from the New Forest in July. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
If you're enjoying the #DragonflyAdventCalendar you may also like the @britishdragonflies.bsky.social monthly e-newsletter. Free to sign up and you don't need to be a member. british-dragonflies.org.uk/get-involved...
A pale brown dragonfly with clear wings and bright green eyes sits on a reed above a ditch.
Day 8 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Norfolk Hawker is no longer restricted to Norfolk, thanks to improving water quality. Photo from RSPB Strumpshaw Fen in late June. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
A dragonfly sits on a rush stem. Its abdomen is bright red and quite wide/ Its eyes and thorax are reddish brown/ It has yellow patches at the base of its otherwise-clear wings (there are several common species that also have yellow patches on the wings - the broad and flat abdomen and lack of stripes on the thorax are the features to look for to identify this).
Day 7 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Broad Scarlet is a very rare visitor to the UK from France, but last year they bred here for the first time at one site. Maybe they'll settle? Photo from mid-July. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
A small blue damselfly, needle-shaped, sits on the edge of a leaf of a bush. It has black areas on its thorax and abdomen. The distinctive marking is on the abdomen, just behind the thorax, where there's a complex marking in the place where the commoner Azure Damselfly has a simple u-shape.
Day 6 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Southern Damselfly is very rare in the UK and is a protected species. This one was in its stronghold in the New Forest, in early July. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
A damselfly sits on a leaf. It is very long and thin, needle-shaped. The abdomen is mainly bright red, the head and thorax darker, the eyes also red. The legs are black which is the easiest way to tell it apart from the less common Small Red, which has pink legs.
Day 5 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Large Red Damselfly is our first species to emerge in serious numbers, in April or even late March. This one was at Ravensroost in May. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife
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A black and yellow dragonfly clings to a dead reed stem. Nettle plants can be seen out of focus in the background.
Day 4 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. An immature Black-tailed Skimmer settling in to roost at Wilts Wildlife Trust's wonderful Lower Moor Farm in early June. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
A dragonfly sits on a dead reed stem. He's waiting for a mate, or for other males to show up and be chased away. He's mainly brown with a black tip to the abdomen and with distinctive black spots in the middle of the leading edge of each wing.
Day 3 of the 2025 #dragonfly #AdventCalendar. Four-spotted chaser, one of our commonest species and very showy. This one at my favourite Wiltshire site, Ravensroost Wood nature reserve in June. #DragonflyAdventCalendar #invertebrates #ukwildlife @britishdragonflies.bsky.social
