Damselfly

When: Adults during summer, larvae all year round

Scientific name: Zygoptera (from the greek, meaning 'paired wing')

Size: Up to 8cm in length

Where: Around freshwater pools - RSPB Black Devon Wetlands, FCS Devilla Forest

May, June and July sees freshwater sites around the Forth humming with activity as damselfly adults emerge from their metamorphosis to breed. Coming in all kinds of dazzling colours, you'll have to be quick if you want to snap a picture of these delicate, other worldly creatures, as they can disappear in an instant among the foliage!

There are around seven species of damselfly found around the upper Firth of Forth. Smaller than a dragonfly, these dainty invertebrates are easy to tell apart once you know what to look for. Damselflies generally rest with their wings held together along their abdomen, whereas dragonflies typically rest with their wings held apart. Individuals in each group have four wings, though a damselfly's are all the same size, with a dragonfly having two larger wings at the front. Damsel's are also generally more slender and their eyes will never touch, unlike those of most dragon's.

The life cycle of these beautiful creatures is fascinating, and little known. They spend most of their lives as larvae, or 'nymphs', living underwater, moulting through various stages over the course of the year. They feed on other insect larvae, such as mosquito and water fleas. Once the nymphs have progressed through 12 - 15 moults, they will then climb out of the water, onto some vegetation, to undergo metamorphosis into their adults form. Think of a butterfly emerging from a cocoon; this image is well recognised. For a damselfly, the outer skeleton splits and the adult emerges, soft bodied and with limp wings. The adults will wait on the vegetation whilst their exoskeleton hardens and their wings become full and firm. This final stage of the life cycle then only lasts about a week, with adults mating, females laying eggs (oviposting) and then dying.

Despite their fleeting existence out of the water, humans have still managed to pin superstition to these fragile creatures; believing them to be the 'devil's darning needle', folk thought that damselflies would sew your eyes shut with their long, slender bodies if you happened to fall asleep next to a river. This suspicion has transcended countries across Europe, with some Germanic names for the insects being Wasserhexe (water witch) and Teufelspferd (devil's horse). Scandinavian heritage has a more romantic view of damselflies, having historically associated them with Freya, the Norse goddess of love and fertility. Perhaps this is because of the hypnotic patterns damselflies make when they mate, or the way their wings fall together, appearing in the shape of a love heart.

Whether you think they are satanic or simply beautiful, you can discover more about damselflies and dragonflies found in the UK by visiting https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/home

Image: Emerald damselfly (Lestes sponsa) by Paul Barclay