Paul Thomas has sent in some lovely photos of Large Red Damselflies on Brown Clee Hill where the higher altitude means things are only just getting underway. The photo (left) shows the exuviae beneath the newly emerged adult and you can clearly see white threads. These are the old linings of the tracheae – gas filled tubes that run through the insects body both as a larva and adult. These threads provide a useful way to see if the insect has actually emerged!
Below is a male (left) and female (right) allowing us to see how much broader the female abdomen is.
