Banded Demoiselle

Another visit to the lake this afternoon, after some really heavy showers it turned out warm and sunny by late afternoon and the nettles were dazzling with the Banded Demoiselles and Small Red Damselflies. (He looks good in large).

A large and very beautiful damselfly that can occasionally be confused with a butterfly thanks to its coloured wings and buoyant flight. They are almost always associated with flowing water, usually neutral to alkaline and may be particularly abundant along slow flowing well vegetated lowland rivers with fen or damp meadows on either side. Males can be quite aggressive defending their territory against other males and some other insects.

Apparently there is a Kingfisher on the river that runs alongside the lake so I can feel a visit is on the cards over the weekend (weather permitting) when I can wait and try to be patient hoping to catch a photograph of him. There is one on the river at the bottom of my garden, but he flies by so quickly there's no chance of photographing him.