Birding Bob
Robert Williamson
First Damselflies of the year today at Dersingham Bog being two Large Red Damselflies :t:
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Broad-bodied chaser has been reported near Norwich, elsewhere in the country Hairy dragonfly, four-spotted chaser, azure and blue-tailed damsels have also been seen.
Nice picture Fozzybear am I rite in saying that the Large Red in the picture is f. intermedia.
I'd looked at some shots around on t'internet and had assumed that the plain red ones were males and the stripy ones were females but that was purely a guess as I know now't about them... can't really answer that one!
Like many damselflies, the female Large red come in different colour forms. These aren't sub-species, as they co-exist and interbreed; they are genetic differences akin to the way people come in black, brown and pink varieties. In most cases where there are female colour forms, one usually looks like the male (the andromorph form) and there are usually two or three other, different colour forms (collectively known as the gynomorph forms). In the case of Large Red there are three forms which differ in the amount of black: melanotum, intermedia and fulvipes. (Colour forms get named in latin too)
Robert's photo is a male, while Fozzybear's is a female intermedia. Males don't have any yellow rings at the junctions of the abdomenal segments.
The Hairy report was from a private site, but it should be flying (when it stops raining) in most areas of the broads. Good sites in the west of the county are rarer, but it's at Pensthorpe and Snettisham. If you are ever i Norwich, the best site there is marston marsh.
Good sites in the west of the county are rarer, but it's at Pensthorpe and Snettisham.
Sadly I'm just going on the text in "Dragonflies of Norfolk", which just says Snettisham - but it will be in freshwater ditches so I'd guess the park.
Actually, there's another that might be flying in Norfolk - Downy Emerald. It's out elsewhere and does occur here - but at a private site. (and I don't know where).
Next one out will probably be scarce chaser - norfolk/suffolk border is best for this species, but it does turn up at strumpshaw.