An Ode to Odonata

A deadly voracious predator with the ability to reach speeds of 30 miles an hour, move their wings independently and catch insects in flight. A graceful enchanting flyer decorated with a range of iridescent rainbow hues. It may not sound as though I am talking about the same creature in these two sentences but that is part of the beauty of dragonflies and damselflies, they are intimidatingly impressive yet exquisitely elegant.

Blue-tailed damselfly

Since the beginnings of their ancestors in the Late Carboniferous period, the Odonata (the taxonomic order which consists of dragonflies and damselflies) have been a strong presence in marshes and wetlands. They are incredibly widespread and have colonised every continent with the exception of Antarctica.

Mating Common Blue damselflies

Their dazzling adult form is tragically transient and lasts merely days or weeks. Most of their lifecycle is spent underwater in their nymph form. Although immature, the nymphs are none-the-less impressive hunters and can dominate a freshwater ecosystem with their aggressive predation skills.

Common Blue damselfly

Living near fenland, we are lucky enough to have a number sites in close proximity that are teaming with dragonflies and damselflies. Two of the best are Wicken Fen and Paxton Pits. With abundant areas of clean freshwater, rich with vegetation, they both provide the perfect conditions for these incredible insects to lay their eggs and for their nymphs to live until they are ready to emerge as adults.

Female Banded Demoiselle

Many Odonata are sexually dimorphic which can make identifying them trickier but, then again, doesn’t that just add to the fun? One of the damselflies that we see most often, the Banded Demoiselle, is a perfect example of this. The name is apt for the male who has distinctive dark patches on his wings which shimmer like black velvet alongside his azure body. However, the female does not display any of the bands which provide her name. She has clear wings and a striking emerald body.

Male Banded Demoiselle

The male Banded Demoiselle is one of the easiest damselflies to identify seeing as there are only two British species that appear to have coloured wings and the other, the Beautiful Demoiselle, has fully tinted wings, without any bands.

Female Banded Demoiselle

Another species of damselfly which regularly makes an appearance on our walks is the Common Blue. This dainty electric blue hued beauty is easily confused with the Azure damselfly. If you look with binoculars or manage to get a good photo the identification becomes easier as there are differences in the pattern of the antehumeral stripes on their thoraxes.

Common Blue damselfly

But enough of these diaphanous damselflies and on to the beasts of the Odonata world – the dragonflies. Without much knowledge of different species, by sight they can generally be distinguished from damselflies by their larger, sturdier form. While they are at rest another hint which will help you distinguish them is to look at the position of their wings. Damselflies hold their wings alongside their body while resting, while dragonflies position their wings out from their body. Perhaps a more subtle difference to the naked eye is the relative size of their wings to each other. While damselflies’ front and rear wings are similar in size, dragonflies rear wings are wider than their front wings.

Damselflies may look deceptively placid but, with their imposing size and strong flying skills, dragonflies are unmistakably dynamic and charismatic. The Ruddy Darter cuts a particularly striking figure alongside the undrained fenland on Wicken’s Sedge Fen trail. This species’ searing scarlet body flashes brightly against the sepia toned fenland vegetation, arousing images of the bleakly beautiful wildness of the place.

Ruddy Darter

The Four-spotted Chaser is another striking, glitzy dragonfly which resides at Wicken Fen and in much of the UK. As it hums past in a bronze blur you may not notice its most dazzling feature, but as it gently rests upon the wetland flora you will easily see how it procured its name. About halfway along and near to the tip of the leading edge of each otherwise clear wing it has eye-catching ebony patches.

Four-spotted Chaser

Subtler, yet no less extraordinary, is the Black-tailed Skimmer. We spent an hour or so basking beside one of the picturesque lakes at Paxton entranced by the aerial acrobatics of this dragonfly and its gorgeous colourings which intensify down its body in an ombré fashion from light blue to black.

Black-tailed Skimmer

In the past I generally admired dragonflies and damselflies for their ephemeral beauty and impressive forms without paying too much attention to species, but as I have dipped my toe into actively identifying them over the past few months I have developed an even greater appreciation of these fascinating creatures. Whether you are bewitched by their stunning patterns, their intriguing behaviour or their stimulating ecology, it is impossible not to adore these luminaries of the insect world.

Black-tailed Skimmer