©Ross Hoddinott/2020VISION
Red-eyed damselfly
Scientific name: Erythromma najas
The Red-eyed damselfly is a small, but robust, damselfly of canals, ponds, lakes and slow-flowing rivers. As its name suggests, it has bright blood-red eyes, but a mostly black body.
Species information
Statistics
Length: 3.5cmConservation status
Common.
When to see
May to SeptemberAbout
The Red-eyed damselfly is a small, but robust, damselfly of canals and slow-flowing rivers, ponds and lakes where it can often be seen sitting on lily pads. It is on the wing from the end of May through to August. When the larvae of damselflies are ready to turn into adults, they emerge from the water and moult their larval skin, leaving behind a cast known as an 'exuviae' - look for these on emergent vegetation around the edges of waterbodies.How to identify
The Red-eyed damselfly is mostly black in colour, with a pale blue band at the end of the body, blue patches on the thorax, and bright, blood-red eyes. It is more robust than the similar Blue-tailed damselfly, which doesn't have red eyes. The Small Red-eyed damselfly is very similar, but a little smaller and more delicate, and has orangey-red eyes.In our area
The Red-eyed Damselfly is more or less restricted to the Montgomery Canal, with very few Montgomeryshire records outside of this corridor. It can be easily seen, when the adults are on the wing, even within the Welshpool town section; look on the lily pads!