Banded Damselfly

Banded demoiselle damselfly: Calopteryx splendens

The weak, fluttering flight of damselflies helps to distinguish them from the larger, more powerful dragonflies. Damselflies also have a more delicate build. When resting they can hold their wings either vertically over the body like a butterfly or horizontally, while a dragonfly holds its wings horizontally. The eyes of the damselfly are more widely spaced than those of the dragonfly, giving its head a dumbbell-shaped appearance.
The banded demoiselle damselfly is found along fast flowing streams, mostly in southern England but also in parts of northern England, Wales and Ireland. Like other damselflies it is on the wing from early summer.
Damselflies feed on other insects, such as caddisflies and alderflies, which they capture in flight or pick off riverside plants. Being relatively slow flyers, they themselves fall victim to the larger and faster dragonflies. The nymphs (larvae) of the damselfly are also carnivorous, and feed in the same way as dragonfly nymphs – by extending a barbed ‘mask’ from the lower jaw which impales the prey and draws it back to the mouth. In winter the nymphs hibernate in mud at the bottom of the stream. They have no pupa stage.