Beautiful or Banded?

Demoiselles are a group of fluttery dragonflies of which there are 2 British species.

The one you are most likely to see in Cholsey is the Banded Demoiselle which is found in habitats of slow moving rivers and streams with muddy bottoms.

The Beautiful Demoiselle is quite rare in Cholsey and its preferred habitat is rivers and streams with gravelly bottoms.

This year both Alan and I have found female Demoiselles that resemble Beautiful.

Some females appear to be difficult to identify to species and I have little experience of Beautiful Demoiselles. 

Fortunately we have some photos. See below.

Beautiful Demoiselle (f) ↕ top photo by Richard Lewington of one near Appleford and the bottom photo by Alan Dawson in Cholsey.

Banded or Beautiful Demoiselle ? Cholsey


from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/05/beautiful-or-banded.html

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