Emerald damselfly

After all of yesterday's excitement it was good to have a couple of hours walking quietly around Castor Hanglands alone. The limestone grassland was virtually devoid of flowers, apart from a host of deflated woolly thistles, their plumpness sucked out by the continuing dry weather. But down near the ponds it was a different picture with species such as fleabane, water-mint, great willowherb and wild angelica still providing a rich nectar source and attracting very many insects.

I'd hoped that I would find the very attractive Tachinid fly Phasia hemiptera, which I've seen there before, but no luck today. This male Emerald Damselfly was perhaps the best behaved insect on my excursion and allowed me to approach very close to get this shot. In some parts of the world this species is known as the Common Spreadwing because, when resting, its wings are usually half opened.