Variable damselfly first for Worcestershire

Variable damselfy seen at Upton Warren. Credit Des Jennings.

November 2010. The variable damselfly, uncommon in Britain, has been discovered on a Worcestershire nature reserve.

The damselfly was photographed over two years ago by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust volunteer Des Jennings at Upton Warren reserve, between Droitwich Spa and Bromsgrove. Although a keen birder, Des was spending some time looking for dragonflies on the reserve when he discovered the damselfly.

Des explained "I'd finished volunteering for the day and decided to undertake some survey work for the National Dragonfly Atlas along the River Salwarpe. I took plenty of photographs of several damselflies and, looking through them when I got home, I was a little unsure of the identification of one of them. I sent an image to the county recorder for dragonflies and we agreed that, unfortunately, I hadn't quite captured enough of the identifying marks that would help him give a positive identification."

Easily confused with common Azure damselfly
Variable damselflies are easily confused with the much more widespread azure damselfly - the identification is down to an area of the body just below the eyes.

Des forgot about the photograph until summer this year when he was re-visiting old photographs. Still intrigued by it and realising that identification could only be arrived at by comparing it with specimens, he decided to contact the Natural History Museum in London.

He added "The Natural History Museum e-mailed me and confirmed it as a variable damselfly and gave the reasons why. It's the first record of this species in the county.

Upton Warren
Upton Warren is Worcestershire's premier bird-watching reserve and consists of two sets of pools, one fresh the other saltwater. The River Salwarpe also runs through the reserve, ensuring plenty of habitat for many different insects and birds. Visitors to the reserve should carry their Worcestershire Wildlife Trust membership card or purchase a permit for £3 from the sailing centre or the wardens onsite.