Blue Tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)

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The Blue Tailed Damselfly

This is one of my favourite species of damselfly. It is daintier and smaller than the other blue species but can vary in size considerably.

It can be seen on the wing from late April in a mild spring or early May, through to mid to late August.

They can be abundant across the whole of the United Kingdom and can be found in a wide variety of sites from streams, rivers and ditches to large and small still waters alike. It can often be seen in the company of other blue species of damselfly and in fairly large numbers.

The males bright blue tail makes this damselfly readily identifiable. It is smaller than the Red Eyed Damselfly, shares the blue tail but lacks the red eye colour of its larger relative.

It could be confused with the Scarce Blue Tailed Damselfly but close examination of the blue segments on the abdomens tip will reveal a very subtle difference. In addition the Scarce Blue Tail is noticable paler in colour.

The female can come in four colours. Their thoracic regions can be either violet, rose pink, a dull green or blue. The blue variety will closely resemble the male and is the most common of the colour forms.

Photographic Overview - The Blue Tailed Damselfly

All of my images are taken in handheld mode without the use of any camera support and this overview is written with that in mind. In addition my primary aim is to achieve the whole of the subject in focus.

The Blue Tailed damselfly is a very obliging subject and always sits up well on its perch, making this a fairly easy species to photograph. It can often be found resting in emergent vegetation and in particular in areas of long grass. A calm day is best as swaying tall stems of grass make taking sharp images almost impossible.

It should be noted that these damselflies tend to perch in locations that will give a very confused background, such as thick vegetation. Try to limit your images to those specimens on isolated lone perches, this will produce a plain and clear backdrop.

This damselfly is very tolerent of being approached and some really close up macro shots are possible.

There are no compositional issues and a medium depth of field setting is adequate to capture this species as it rests with its wings closed parallel to its body.

If you want to know more about this species, then follow this link - To Narrative

Like to see further images of this damselfly, then follow this link - To Further Images

If you want to see the best of these images, then follow this link - To Slide Show

These images were obtained by stealth and patience alone, no other non photographic techniques were used. I hope you have enjoyed browsing my website and that you'll return again soon.

Page Updated 05/11

All of these photographs were taken by and remain the property of Chris Brooks

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