Black Dragonfly id : Description only (sorry) (1 Viewer)

[Tim100]

Hello,

I often have Dragonflies in the garden during the summer and they are quite big with clear wings.

However in the hot summer of 2004 I saw very briefly a black dragonfly. It was smaller than the Dragonflies I commonly see but moved just as quickly. I can't confirm whether the wings were clear or not as it was hovering around a foot of the ground and then flew away.

Can anyone show me any pics of all black dragonflies or similar species that can be found in Kent, SE England. I did not imagine it but have never seen anything like it since. It was very striking.

Thanks,

Tim

 

[mports]

A good place to start would be the British Dragonfly Society website. You'll find a photo guide under the UK species link on the left-hand side of the page.

I'd start looking under: Family Libellulidae - Chasers, Skimmers and Darters.

http://www.dragonflysoc.org.uk

Regards

Mark

 

[HarassedDad]

Yesterday we had a public event at Wheatfen, and several members of the public asked me what the black dragonflies were. Surprisingly, what they were seeing were Banded Demoiselles - the overcast light conditions were making them appear black. So you might need to use some imagination when looking at the photos to allow for ambient light conditions.

 

[Tim100]

Thanks for the info guys.

Yes Banded Demoiselle looks a very good match.

Thanks,

Tim