After the rain.

After a wet Monday and a Tuesday morning, the rain stopped, and the sun came out, so did the Dragonflies and Damselflies.

Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve.

Broad-bodied Chaser (male)

Azure Damselflies.

Large Red Damselfly.

Norfolk Hawker.

Four-spotted Chaser.

Itchen Valley.

Today’s pictures are all a bit closer.

Looking under some corrugated froofing sheet, I was hoping to see some snakes or slow worms, but it was a surprise to see a Common Frog.

Banded Demoiselle (male)

Banded Demoiselle (female)

Painted Lady, this year seems to be a good year for this large butterfly. A summer visitor to the UK, their numbers fluctuate drastically. British winters are too cold for them to survive, so large numbers migrate annually from North Africa and southern Europe, arriving from late spring through early autumn.

Little things.

Little things spotted at Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve while on a Sunday morning walk.

Alder Beetle – mating pair.

Large Red damselfly.

Common Lizard enjoying some sun.

I believe this is a Little Reed Beetle.

Azure Damselfly {male}.

Bee.

Something a bit larger.

Picked up a Mute Swan egg on the path.

Common Blue.

The Common Blue is one of the most common damselflies in the UK.

The Male is blue and black with a button-shaped mark on the segment below the wing base. The female is less colourful – she is dull green /light yellow with a thistle-shaped mark below the wing base and black bands.

Damselflies.

Similar to Dragonflies, Damselflies are usually smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species will fold their wings along the body when at rest, unlike dragonflies which hold the wings flat and away from the body. They have existed since the Jurassic Age.

All damselflies are predatory insects; both nymphs and adults actively hunt and eat other insects.

Now the sun is out.

Now the sun is out Dragonflies and Damselflies are starting to fly.

Four-Spotted Chaser.

Four-Spotted Chaser. This Dragonfly has emerged deformed and missing one wing.

The Chaser below is deformed and missing 1 wing.

Azure Damselfly pair mating.

Hairy Dragonfly.

Banded Demoiselle.