Damselflies and dragonflies are part of the Odonata order. The main ways of telling a damselfly apart from a dragonfly is in the wings and the eyes. Also, in general damselflies tend to be smaller, thinner and weaker flying than dragonflies. However the largest damselflies (the Demoiselles) are larger than the smaller dragonflies (the Darters).
Damselfly wings are all the same size and shape, whereas dragonfly hind wings are shorter and thicker. Also damselfly wings are hinged which enables them to hold them back along their bodies when at rest. Dragonflies can’t do this, so their wings are always out flat away from the body. The Emerald Damselflies do hold their wings at a 45 0 angle to their bodies, but they are still pointing backwards.
Four-spotted Chaser – wings laid out and of different shapes Willow Emerald – Wing held backwards and are equal
The eyes of a damselfly are like a dumbbell, with the eyes being the round parts on either end. Dragonfly eyes are very big and take up most of the head, front to back and top to bottom.
Large red Damselfly with dumbbell like eyes Common Darter with huge eyes that take up most of the head
Common Damselflies around Wadhurst
Basic damselfly anatomy
Beautiful Demoiselle The Demoiselles are large, beautiful damselflies that are unmistakable. The Beautiful Demoiselle is our only one that has wholly coloured wings. The male is a metallic blue-green with dark wings that have a blue iridescence. The female is metallic green-bronze and has light brown wings.
Male Beautiful Demoiselle
Female Beautiful Demoiselle
Banded Demoiselle The male’s body is very similar to the Beautiful, but the wings have blue banded wings. The female also has a very similar body to the beautiful, but her wings have a green tinge.
Male Banded Demoiselle Large Red Damselfly If you see a red damselfly in Wadhurst, it will be a Large Red. We only have one other red damsel (the Small Red) and that is only found on heathland and near acidic ponds and bogs (they are quite common on Ashdown Forest). They have red bodies with varying amounts of black markings on them and black legs.
Large Red Damselfly
Azure and Common Blues Some of the blues can be quite tricky to tell apart, but the main 2 you will encounter in Wadhurst are these 2. There are a couple of diagnostic features to look out for, but they are rather small, so either take clear photos or have a good pair of binoculars with you. The easiest feature to see is the side of the thorax). There is a small black “spur” mark on the Azure that the Common lacks. Also the marking on segment 2 of the abdomen is different, the Azure has a U shape whereas the Common is more like a mushroom shape. Females are much harder to tell apart, but the spur marking is the same as the males.
Common Blue with mushroom shape on S2
Common Blue without spur marking
Azure Damselfly with U shape on S2 and Spur marking
Blue-tailed Damselfly This does what it says on the tin! Both males and females have a blue segment on their tails – the rest of the abdomen is mostly black. The male has a blue and black thorax, whereas the females has at least 5 colour forms.
Blue-tailed Damselfly
Red-eyed Damselfly The males can look superficially like a Blue-tailed, but the blue tail marking is further towards then end, it has a greenish black abdomen and bright red eyes.
Male Red-eyed Damselfly
These are the main damselfly species that will be encountered around Wadhurst, but there are others!