Phylum: Arthropoda - Class: Insecta - Order: Odonata - Family: Coenagriidae
The Small Red Damselfly is one of two red damselflies that occur in Britain. The Small Red Damselfly is distinguished not only by its smaller size (25 to 35 mm body length and with a wingspan of 30 to 42mm) but also by its reddish legs and pterostigma (wing spots) - the legs of the Large Red Damselfly are black and it has dark pterostigma. The male Small Red Damselfly has an all-red abdomen, while females vary in colour form with most having bronze-tinged black abdomens apart from segments 1 to 3, which are red, and segments 9 and 10, which are red tinged.
In Britain the strongest populations of Small Red Damselflies are in the south and south-west of England and around the western coastal parts of Wales. Elsewhere there are scattered colonies in a few other parts of southern inland England and much of inland Wales. Originally a Mediterranean and North African species, in recent years the Small Red Damselfly has extended its range northwards on mainland Europe. This species was first recorded in Britain in 1999 but the Small Red Damselfly has not yet been recorded in Ireland.
This is mainly an insect of boggy acidic heathland. It is reported that the larvae of the Small Red Damsefly usually take two years to develop, living in shallow, warmish well-vegetated pools and streams before emerging as winged adults during late spring and early summer. Mating damselflies form what is often referred to as a 'damsel wheel'. Paired damselflies can be seen flying low over the water surface. Small Red Damselflies are weak fliers and are usually seen on the wing in late June July and August.
In Britain the Small Red Damselfly is nationally scarce, but its international conservation status is 'Of Least Concern'.
This page includes pictures kindly contributed by Betty and Tony Rackham.
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