The dragonfly’s smaller cousin, damselflies are delicate and very thin. Unlike dragonflies, most damselflies fold their wings back over their bodies when resting. Damselflies have existed for over 100 million years and live in their modern form on every continent, except Antarctica.
They’re graceful flyers and you can sometimes spot clouds of them flitting over the water surface and among vegetation on sunny days. They feed on mosquitoes, midges, and other insects.
Damselflies and our canals
The reed fringes of many of our canals and rivers provide excellent breeding sites and hunting grounds for damselflies. Our maintenance programme involves creating and improving canal banks with damselflies in mind.
We build soft banks using coir roles or hazel faggots to encourage reed fringes to grow. These create ideal habitats for many insects, particularly damselflies.
Damselflies are small and delicate with eyes on each side of a rectangular head. Their colours can be stunning and vivid. There are 17 damselfly species in Britain. Here are a few you might spot along our canals.
A metallic blue banded demoiselle damselfly with the distinctive fingerprint marking on its wings perches on a leaf.
Young damselflies – called larvae, nymphs, or naiads – are aquatic predators. They dwell in freshwater habitats and catch prey with their hinged lower lip. Adult damselflies take to the air to feed on small, flying insects.
How do damselflies breed?
In some damselfly species, males perform elaborate courtship rituals in which they hover in front of the female to display their brightly coloured wings or body. To mate, the male holds the female’s neck while she bends her body to form a 'mating wheel'. Males usually remain attached while the female lays her eggs.
Female damselflies place their eggs inside plant tissue using a tube-like organ called the ovipositor. Some species lay their eggs underwater. She may stay beneath the surface for more than an hour. The male waits to help her rise from the water.
Most UK damselflies are less than 5cm but some extinct species measured nearly one metre long.
Where do damselflies live?
Damselflies love water, living near canals, streams, lakes, and ponds. Some species prefer faster-flowing streams, while others like the still waters of our canals. Damselflies will typically roost in dense vegetation, perched along plant stems.
You’re likely to see damselflies on the wing between April and September over any body of water. Keep an eye on the vegetation lining the canal or along hedgerows and woodland edges where they may hunt.
What’s the difference between a damselfly and a dragonfly?
Although similar, damselflies and dragonflies are different species. A damselfly larva is differentiated by its three leaflike gills on the abdomen. Dragonflies have internal gills.
As adults, damselflies have thinner bodies and they (mostly) tuck their wings vertically when not in flight. Damselfly wings are all the same size and shape with matching vein patterns.
Damselfly eyes are widely separated on each side of a rectangular head, whereas dragonfly eyes meet in the middle.
Habitat loss is the greatest threat to damselflies. Human destruction of water bodies has historically been the primary cause of population declines. Climate change might affect damselflies in the future.
