Jim Almond has been enjoying ‘the blues’ at a private site just south of Shrewsbury. Pictured left is a male Variable Damselfly- a rare species in Shropshire identified by the characteristic broken antehumeral stripes giving the appearance of exclamation marks. As the name suggests however things are not always that reliable and pictured below left is another male of the same species with complete stripes! If you suspect Variable Damselfly then look at the markings on segment 2 of the abdomen and you will see a ‘stemmed goblet’ not a detached U shape as in the male Azure (below right). Variables also have a more solid ‘filled-in’ black mark at the end of the abdomen whereas Azure has a black mark more like a butterfly or bowtie…
…and as if that wasn’t enough don’t forget Common Blue Damselflies (far below left) with very broad antehumeral stripes and Red-eyed Damselflies (far below right) with no shoulder stripes…but a great pair of deep red eyes!
