Two years ago, when my interest in dragonflies and damselflies was very much in its infancy, I happened upon White-legged Damselfly on the Ashby Canal, about 14 miles (23 km) from my home. At that time I knew they looked different, but I didn't know what it was that I was looking at until I looked them up in a reference book.
I intended to try and find them again last year, but somehow missed the opportunity. This year I was determined to try again.
My first visit to the location was on 2nd June, on the off-chance that there'd been an early emergence. There wasn't, and not a single dragon or damsel was seen.
For various reasons, including weather and other commitments, I didn't get to check again until 3rd July. This time I was rather more successful and, in fact, White-legged Damselfly was the only odonata species I saw! It had been sunny when I set off, but had clouded over by the time that I arrived. It was still quite bright, however, and I'm sure that these light conditions helped with photography, and it didn't seem to send the damselflies into deep cover. Here are a few images of the male of the species. |
| White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) (male) - Ashby Canal |
To me, the male of this species is one of the most attractive of the British damselflies. The pale blue colouration, the smart legs, the markings on the abdomen, and the colour of the pterostigma are all contributing factors. The female is a little more drab.There were many males about, but I only saw two females, one of which was mating, and neither of which did I manage to photograph to my satisfaction. |
| White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) (female) - Ashby Canal |
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| White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) (mating) - Ashby Canal |
Alongside the canal that day I found several Mullein Moth caterpillars.  |
| Mullein Moth (Cucullia verbasci) (larva) - Ashby Canal |
Fired up by my findings of the previous day, and interested in seeing if the canal acted as a wildlife highway, I returned to the canal on 4th July. This time, however, I went to a point only around 6 miles (10 km) from my home. There is a small car park here and I understand from a local farmer who has hosted two of my Little Owl sites (now both sadly defunct - the sites, not the farmer!) and who's farm is close to the site, that this car park has a reputation for being a 'dogging' site. However, I was going to visit mid-morning, so was relatively confident that such activities would not be taking place. What I found when I arrived left me even more concerned. The car park was all-but-full with about a dozen vehicles (half of which were small unmarked white vans), each with a post-middle-aged male sitting in it. The concern deepened when two younger males arrived wearing skimpy lycra outfits. I got some strange looks when I got out of my car carrying a camera with a big lens. Determined not to be put off, I set off down the towpath!This was another day when I set off in bright sunshine, and it clouded over before I arrived!The first damselflies I saw were Blue-tailed Damselflies. These are quite common locally. |
| Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (male) - Ashby Canal |
In the following image, I believe the female to be of the type f. rufescens-obsoleta. |
| Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (mating) - Ashby Canal |
There were also Common Blue Damselfly present. |
| Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (female - drab form) - Ashby Canal |
I also found a male Banded Demoiselle. I only managed a rubbish photo, but I'm seeing very few of these this year, so I'll publish it! |
| Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) (male) - Ashby Canal |
Thankfully, I found my target species a little further along the towpath. In fact, by the time I'd finished I'd probably seen as many White-legged Damselflies as I had of all the other species combined. This time I only saw males, however!
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| White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) (male) - Ashby Canal |
As I returned along the towpath, I encountered a male Azure Damselfly - another common species. On this one, the usual 'U' shaped mark on segment 2 of the abdomen was broken. |
| Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) (male) - Ashby Canal |
I returned to the Ashby Canal for an hour and a half on Tuesday 9th August. Not a single damsel or dragon was seen, but the car park was nearly full again, and the white vans were there too!It's time I did a post featuring some birds, and possibly some owls. I'll see what I can come up with next time.Thank you for dropping by.
