Odonate (dragon and damselflies) are a frustrating group for me. Often you need to see them very close up to be able to identify them which means taking photos and then examining them when you get home which is not really how I like to enjoy nature. On the other hand there is lots to be discovered about their distribution as there are few people with an interest for them in Norway and I have recorded a number of range expansions. Dragonflies, are due to their size, easier to find, take photos of and identify and I can now identify most of the ones I find around Oslo with my binoculars in the field. Damselflies though are so small, and many so similar, that for the blue and green ones I am reliant on taking photos (if they ever stop long enough for me to manage a photo..)
I had a bit of a revelation a few years ago with
blue butterflies that a number of different species could fly together and that
it was a very foolish to just assume they were all the same species as the
first one you identified (which was what I had been doing…). A couple of years
ago it occurred to me that the same was also true with all the blue damsels that
hovered around my feet and after taking lots of photos and pouring over the pc
and books and websites I reached a new pinnacle in my knowledge when a couple
of days ago I found out there were 4 different species buzzing around my legs (and
I took all the photos from exactly the same spot!).
I have also found a male Broad-bodied Chaser that is
holding a territory and this species does seem to have become established in
Maridalen after the female I photographed earlier (and another I saw in flight).
The Cambridge blue colour of the male is a colour after my own heart and this
is my current favourite odonate.
male Broad-bodies Chaser (blåbredlibelle) |
male Northern White-faced Darter (østtorvlibelle) |
male Variable Bluet (fagerblåvannymfe) |
male Arctic Bluet (nordblåvannymfe) |
male Azure Bluet (sørblåvannymfe) |
male Spearhead Bluet (spydblåvannymfe) which is the commonest species and also easiest to identify as it has greenish (lower) eyes |
no problem with this one, a Large Red Damselfly (rødvannymfe) |
I thought this was a dragonfly larve eating a tadpole but have been informed it is most likely a larve of a Great Diving Beetle (stor vannkalv) |
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